Oman’s national oil company has announced that it will further commit to a gas development programme it inked in March for the development of two major gas exploration blocs, and sign a gas sales agreement for one of its lynchpin tight gas concessions.
According to a report in today’s Oman Daily Observer, Oman’s Oil Company for Exploration and Production (OOCEP), the upstream subsidiary of the wholly government-owned Oman Oil Company, is set to commit to the further development of the Abu Tubul gas field in Block 60 in central Oman and Block 42 in the Sharqiyah region on Tuesday this week.
The news follows a previous announcement in March.
Block 60 is the largest of the two fields, covering about 1,500 square kilometres. It includes the Abu Tubul field with gas and gas-condensate bearing formation, Ordovician Barik, located at depths of around 4,500 metres, which was discovered in 1998 by Petroleum Development Oman, PDO and was appraised by BG International from April 2006 to June 2010.
On Tuesday 11 October OOCEP will be signing a Gas Sales Agreement covering initial output from the Abu Tubul field, which received $1.1 billion of investment through a tight gas drilling contract in March, with a view to commercial gas production in Q1 2013 through the use of horizontal drilling and fracking techniques.
Output is targeted at a peak production rate of 90 million standard cubic feet per day — volumes that will go a long way in meeting the nation’s escalating demand for natural gas as fuel for electricity generation and water desalination, as well as feedstock for petrochemical schemes. Longer term, Oman is seeking energy independendence, with BP’s pending commitment to a $15 billion tight gas project being the country’s best prospect.
After producing from the known tight gas formations at Block 60, OOCEP plans to drill at least two new exploration wells in the northern half of the concession.
Covering an area of about 25,600 sq kilometres, the Block 42 concession includes the northeast coastal range of the Oman Mountains and the basin immediately to the south under Ramlat Sharqiyah. Hydrocarbon indications have already been proven by previous exploration wells. OOCEP plans to acquire new data to appraise known structures in the block.
