Oman’s Ministry of Oil & Gas is hopeful of announcing “one or two” more gas discoveries — a revelation that promises to give further comfort to a national economy that is increasing banking on natural gas as the lifeblood of economic growth.
Ministry Under-Secretary Salim al Aufi (pictured) said the new finds are in addition to the sizable discoveries announced last year, notable among which was the potentially prolific Mabrouk gas field located within the Block 6 license of Petroleum Development Oman (PDO). Mabrouk’s gas potential has been billed in excess of 4 trillion cubic feet (TCF).
Inaugurating a workshop on ‘Tight Gas’, at the Grand Millennium Muscat Hotel on Monday, Al Aufi said a public announcement about the new discoveries would only be made once the new fields are suitably tested and appraised.
The 3-day workshop, organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), also featured keynote addresses by Sami Baqi, Technical Director at Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) and Yousuf al Ojaili, President Oman at BP.
Speaking at the event, Al Aufi said the “buzz” that was unleashed by the discovery of Mabrouk, as well as the successful development of the Khazzan and Ghazeer tight-gas fields by BP Oman in Block 61, was “continuing” as new finds were unearthed.
Tight-gas reserves, which are relatively expensive and technically challenging to unlock because the gas is trapped in hard reservoir rock at great depths, are now an important source of natural gas for the Sultanate, said the Under-Secretary. Many of the finds being made in different blocks are likely to fall in the category of tight-gas fields, he noted.
The official stressed in this regard the need for “localisation” of services in order to make tight-gas production a cost-competitive endeavour. “The critical success factor for unlocking tight gas is to localise as much as possible the expertise, the technologies, the services, and so on. A key fundamental to harnessing tight gas is to bring the cost down – whether it’s in drilling, fracking, and so on. To add value to the economy, we need to make sure it is unlocked in the most cost-competitive way.”
The Under-Secretary also pledged to help operators make progress in their tight-gas journey.
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