Independents To Drive Oman’s 2013 Output Boost

8 Mar 2013 Issue: 56 / 10

Oman is aiming to boost oil production to just below 940,000 b/d in 2013. But with PDO committing to maintain an output plateau of 550,000 b/d, the onus will be on independents Occidental, Daleel Petroleum and CCED to generate the desired increase.

Oman has long relied on the private sector to boost its crude production – a trend which appears to show no sign of stopping. Oman announced on 3 March it is looking to produce around 940,000 b/d on average for the coming year, and carry on at this level for a period of at least five years. This would represent a near 3% increase on the 916,500 b/d it produced in 2012.

“Personally, I don’t believe there will be a decline in five years,” Undersecretary at Oman’s Ministry of Oil and Gas (MOG) Nasir al-Jashmi told the press at an industry conference in Muscat. “We are expecting almost 940,000 b/d this year. All the oil companies [active in Oman] are increasing production,” he said, revealing that a number of projects that should help deliver this increase are going to be brought on stream later this year. (CONTINUED - 1487 WORDS)