OREANDA-NEWS. Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), the Sultanate’s oil and gas exploration and production flagship, plans to invest over USD 11 billion in a raft of new oil projects over the next 10 years. The investments, according to Managing Director Raoul Restucci, will help develop over one billion barrels of oil — part of the majority government-owned company’s strategy to sustain hydrocarbon output over the long term. “Between now and 2022, there will also be 16 significant new projects comprising over USD 11 billion of investment and targeted at developing over a billion barrels of oil,” Raoul said in the company’s newly released annual report for 2012. Reviewing the company’s performance for the year, the Managing Director said: “The year saw a number of record-breaking achievements and historic firsts which underline PDO’s determination to help strengthen and enrich the economic and social fabric of the Sultanate.

Despite a challenging year, we surpassed expectations in our core business of oil, gas and condensate production due a tremendous team effort across our operation. Total production of hydrocarbons in 2012 was the highest in our history at 1.24 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd). This exceeded the previous best of 1.21 million boepd in 2001,” Restucci said. PDO’s contribution to the national oil output averaged 566,305 barrels per day (bpd), surpassing the com pany’s long-term plateau target of 550,000-plus bpd. Daily production of non-associated and associated gas was 582,500 boepd with condensates at 92,500 bpd. “The combined yield meant it was the fifth successful year that PDO increased its aggregate production figure,” the Managing Director noted.

PDO accounts for around 70 per cent of Oman’s crude oil production and nearly all of its natural gas supply. The company currently has around 750 million barrels of hydrocarbon resources under development across a number of major and large products in the execution phase, with a portfolio of around 600 schemes scheduled for implementation over the over next 10 years. PDO, Restucci said, remains focused on its goal of achieving sustainable long-term production targets, underpinned by the optimal exploitation and development of hydrocarbon resources within its Block 6 concession. “This means maximising the yield from conventional oil and gas fields, but also exploring and exploiting unconventional opportunities. With that in mind, we are proud to have achieved a reserves replacement of 203 million barrels of oil reserves booked against 206.8 million of production. On gas, 0.96 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of reserves were matured against 0.99 TCF of production,” he stated. Enhanced oil recovery (EOR), which currently accounts for 3 per cent of the company’s portfolio, is expected to rise to 16 per cent by 2016 and 27 per cent by 2021 as conventional supplies diminish, according to the Managing Director.

A total of six EOR trials are currently in operation or in engineering execution, he said. Significantly, 2012 was a watershed year for PDO’s acclaimed EOR programme. At Qarn Alam, the company began producing oil through a thermally assisted gas oil gravity drainage recovery mechanism. Another EOR project, based on miscible gas injection, came on stream at Harweel. Later that year, the Amal West Solar Steam Generation Pilot, the largest plant in the world using such technology, began a one-year performance monitoring phase, the outcome of which will decide its efficacy in extracting heavy oil.

Looking ahead, PDO’s development focus will build on the maturation of conventional waterfloods in fields like Amin and Nimr, and the EOR ramp-up at Amal, Qarn Alam and Marmul al Khalata, the Managing Director said. On the gas front, the company aims to progress the Mabrouk discovery, the Al Huwaisah field development and early production facilities for the Fahud South West/Khulud gas area, as well as make the most of the newly commissioned Saih Nihayda Depletion Compression Project, he added. (OEPPA Business Development Dept.