Output from Oman’s Blocks 3&4 (Athens-based CCED 50%op, Sweden’s Tethys 30%, Mitsui, 20%) surged to a record annual high of 42,657 b/d in 2019. It exited the year even higher at a monthly-record of 45,097 b/d as the upwards trend continued apace.
While undoubtedly good news for the blocks’ partners, it has to be noted that this comes while Omani output was capped at 970,000 b/d under the Opec+ agreement. Under the initial round of cuts in 2017-18, the blocks’ output was capped at 41,000 b/d (MEES, 20 January 2017), and while the cap was increased minimally in 2019, it is hard to see how the partners were not overproducing. Official Omani figures showed the sultanate broadly compliant each month, implying falls elsewhere. (CONTINUED - 305 WORDS)
