Oman to Commit to Tight Gas Projects

Oman’s Oil Company for Exploration and Production has announced that it will further commit to a gas development programme for the development of two major gas exploration blocs.

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.

Block 60, covering about 1,500 square kilometres, 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.

OOCEP will also 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.

Oman is targeting output a peak production rate of 90 million standard cubic feet per day from its Block 60 development programme.

The country is hoping that the investment will assist 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.

Source: Oman Daily Observer