By Glen Carey
June 17 (Bloomberg) — Petroleum Development Oman, a state- controlled company in which Royal Dutch Shell Plc is the largest foreign investor, plans to more than double production at its Mabrouk oil field as part of its plan to stem the decline in the nation’s oil output.
PDO, which accounts for more than 80 percent of Oman’s oil production, plans to raise output at to 15,000-20,000 barrels a day by the end of 2009 from the current 8,000 barrels a day, the company said in an e-mailed statement received today.
It will drill up to 80 new oil wells and build a new production station and gathering system, the company said. The onshore field in central Oman will also produce 1-2 million cubic meters a day of natural gas, the company’s statement said.
Oman, the largest Arab oil producer that isn’t a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, is seeking the help of international oil companies to raise output. PDO produced a total of 589,000 barrels of oil a day last year, down from 631,000 barrels a day a year earlier, the company said in a report on May 2.
PDO has produced about 1 percent of the oil-in-place at the Mabrouk field since its discovery in 1979. The full-field development plan will increase the recovery rate to around 10-12 percent, the company said in the statement.
The company also signed on May 27 two agreements to increase output from the aging Qarn Alam oil and gas field through steam injection.
Dodsal Group, an Indian construction company based in the United Arab Emirates, will drill 150 wells and build a water treatment plant at Qarn Alam. Galfar Engineering & Contracting Ltd., a closely held oil and gas services company in Oman, won a contract to install water flow lines at the Qarn Alam field.
Shell owns 34 percent of Petroleum Development Oman, Total SA has a 4 percent stake and the Omani government owns 60 percent.
To contact the reporter on this story: Glen Carey in Dubai at [email protected]
Last Updated: June 17, 2007 09:43 EDT
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