Sunday 01 / June / 2025
Muscat: Production of natural gas from Block 61 of the Khazzan gas field project will begin latest by September, a top-level ministry official said.
The project is expected to produce 1 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas in phase one of the project to increase natural gas production in the country.
“Phase one of Block 61 will start production by late August or early September,” Salim Al Aufi, undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil and Gas, said.
“The commissioning work is in progress and wells drilled are quite promising from the subsurface point of view. Work on surface facilities is in progress, but no commercial contract has been signed yet. The flow will gradually rise to 500 million cubic feet by the end of this year and will eventually reach 1bcf by first quarter of 2018.”
BP’s Khazzan’s project is expected to produce 1.5 bcf of natural gas by 2020 over two phases. BP is the operator of Block 61 with a 60 per cent interest, while Oman Oil Exploration and Production Company holds the remaining 40 per cent stake. In November last year, BP had extended an agreement to extend their license area in the giant Khazzan tight gas field.
Al Aufi also updated on Duqm refinery’s progress, reiterating that the refinery is expected to be commissioned by 2019 or 2020.
“Discussion is currently on whether the Omani part of the feedstock will be shipped or transported via pipeline from one of the connecting points. As there is no existing pipeline into Duqm, it will be tapped into the main pipeline,” Al Aufi added.
He stated that Kuwaiti crude for the Duqm refinery will be brought in through jetty to Duqm.
Commenting on the tenders to be floated by the Ministry of Oil and Gas in Oman, he said the ministry has no plans for such this year, but will support any private companies floating such tenders, such as Ras Markaz by Oman Oil Company.
