PDO’s Tayseer gas field set for accelerated development

GENERATING CASH FLOW: Tayseer is an example of PDO’s award-winning strategy to achieve the early monetisation of new discoveries

Dec 26: Majority government-owned Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), which accounts for much of the nation’s crude oil output as well as almost all of its gas production, says it is accelerating early development of its promising Tayseer gas field in southern Oman.

Tayseer is one of a substantial portfolio of small and large projects that will make headway in the coming year in line with PDO’s strategy to sustain hydrocarbon production, most notably natural gas seen as pivotal to fuelling the Sultanate’s economic development.

“Tayseer is a very nice development, for which we are mobilising the early development facilities very quickly,” PDO Managing Director Raoul Restucci said. “We have done the exploration appraisal, and we are at the moment accelerating early development facilities.”

“We have already started to invite tenders on this, so you are going to see a very accelerated development programme for testing surface, and that will help us determine how many development wells are needed,” Restucci added.

Discovered barely two years in November 2014, Tayseer is an example of PDO’s award-winning strategy to achieve the early magnetisation of new hydrocarbon discoveries through modest investments in early development facilities. Designed to help mitigate the effects of the current crisis unleashed by relatively low oil prices, early monetisation helps drive cash flow and generate revenues for the company.

Located around 35 km north of PDO’s Budour NE fields and 20km west of al Noor Production (For illustration only) Station, the Tayseer gas field flowed rich gas at the rate of around 1.3 million cubic metres per day (MMm3/day) and condensate of around 900 m3/ day during the successful testing of the TY-1 well. The well proved a gas-initially-in-place (GIIP) volume of around 12.6 billion cubic metres (BCM) and condensate-initially-in-place (CIIP) volume of 8.8 MMm3.

An opportunity-framing workshop conducted by PDO about a year ago outlined the potential to develop up to 4.0 BCM of gas reserves at the rate of 1 MMm3/day of gas through the Early Development Facilities (EDF) route, along with along with around 700 m3/day of condensate. Full field development will target around 26.4 BCM of natural gas and 18.5 MMm3 of condensate. While gas is proposed to be exported via the South Oman Gas Line (SOGL), oil and condensate will be fed into the Main Oil Line (MOL).

Also making headway are two big ticket ventures, according to PDO’s Managing Director. “The Rabab-Harweel (Integrated Project – RHIP) continues to progress well, while Yibal Khuff (is the subject of) major design executive follow through activities,” he pointed out.

Rabab-Harweel and Yibal Khuff, along with Budour, are oil and gas reservoirs located in the Greater Birba in the south of PDO’s concession. The integrated Rahab-Harweel project aims to harness part of Rabab’s sour gas to inject as miscible gas to produce heavy oil from Harweel’s sour oil reservoirs. The project will target a peak production of 36,000 barrels per day (bpd) of heavy oil.

Equally mega-scale is the Yibal Khuff Sudair project entailing the development of an integrated greenfield oil and gas scheme targeting an output of 20,000 bpd of oil and 6 MMm3/day of gas. The giant facility also includes a new central processing plant with oil separation and stabilisation facilities. Also envisaged are facilities for gas sweetening, hydration, dewpointing and sulphur recovery and production and liquid sulphur handling.