OOCEP to Position Itself as Key Player in Oman's Unconventional Energy Space
Oman Oil Company Exploration and Production (OOCEP), a wholly owned subsidiary of Oman Oil Company, is looking to position itself as key player in Oman’s emerging unconventional oil and gas industry, said Salim al Sibani, Chief Executive Officer of the company.
Last month, BP announced that OOCEP would buy 40% stake in Khazzan tight gas project in Block 61. The state owned firm is also harnessing the tight gas potential of its own Abu Tubul field in Block 60.
“We believe the unconventional resources sector, which is still in its early stages now, has a huge upside in Oman. Our partnership with BP in the commercial development of Block 61 puts us in a very good position to address some other (unconventional) fields which fall in the same category,” Al Sibani told Oman Daily Observer.
According to Al Sibani, commercial production from Block 60 is expected to begin by the end of the first quarter or beginning of the second quarter of 2014.
OOCEP’s successful efforts in harnessing the potential of the Abu Tubul, which it acquired upon British firm BG’s relinquishment of the Block in 2010, were key in positioning the company for this partnership role with BP in the development of the Khazzan field, Oman Daily Observer quoted Al Sibani as saying.
“Block 60 has allowed us to build our capabilities within OOCEP. For us here in Oman, embarking on non-conventional resources has been a key parameter in building the required knowhow. Block 60 served as a platform which allowed us to be well-positioned to partner with BP in Block 61. There is a lot of synergy (between the two fields), not so much on the size but in terms of their complexity, the knowhow needed to deal with this complexity, and management of risks. Both projects are similar on the unconventional stage: they come from the same reservoir at depths of almost 5,000 metres. The type of drilling, fraccing, deep tight completions, and so on, will be similar as well,” the CEO told the newspaper.
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