Oxy Oman achieves production of 245,000 boepd in 2016

Occidental of Oman Inc, the second largest producer of hydrocarbons in the Sultanate after Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), has seen its hydrocarbon production increase two per cent to around 245,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2016.

The company, which has been operating in the Sultanate for over 30 years, has also garnered a number of successes in the form of new oil and gas discoveries — six in all — while also maintaining activity levels at previous year highs.

“The overall story for Oxy in Oman is one of continuing to build production, create jobs and move forward, and we have continued to work with our partners to add wealth to the nation,” said Steve Kelly, ( Pictured) President & General Manager — Oxy Oman.

“We have achieved a 30 per cent reduction in capex and opex, while growing production and maintaining activity levels. We have had a number of great successes in a number of our fields as well,” he added in a presentation at the Annual Media Briefing 2017 hosted by the Ministry of Oil & Gas.

A notable highlight of the past year was the successful commissioning of a new gas plant in Maradi Huraymah field in Block 62, with production averaging 120 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd). A total of 18 production wells were hooked up in 2016 with a further two well due to be hooked up this year.

In Block 9, an active exploration programme undertaken over the 30 years has enabled Oxy Oman to boost production over the years to reach 94,000 boepd last year. Early this year, Oman Oil Company Exploration and Production (OOCEP) joined the Block as a partner under a 15 year extension to the Exploration & Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA) covering this concession.

In Block 53 in south-central Oman, Oxy is operating one of the world’s largest thermal Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) projects at Mukhaizna — a steamflood development where water treatment is central to the operations. “We treat over 750,000 bpd of produced water to make clean, soft, chloride-free boiler feed water for steam generation. Of this, 300,000 bpd comes from the world’s largest mechanical vapour compression facility,” said Kelly.

In Block 27, where production has reached a high of 12,000 boepd, the company has made a significant discovery at Wadi Aswad Far East.