Swedish firm Maha Energy AB has announced that the planned start of the drilling of the first six wells on the Mafraq fileld in Block 70 onshore Oman has been delayed due to the technical problems with the rig contracted for the drilling campaign.
Maha Energy said it had been notified by Global Business Services (GBS) that the contracted GBS-1 drilling rig would no longer be available for Maha Energy in Oman. GBS said it would be unable to deliver the drilling rig GBS-1 primarily due to “technical deficiencies uncovered during pre-mobilisation inspections”.
Maha says it is now evaluating alternative options, but this means that the drilling of the six wells on Mafraq will be delayed. A revised schedule will be announced as soon as further information is available, the company stated.
Jonas Lindvall, CEO at Maha, added: “We have been working hard to ensure all material and equipment were available for a June 30 spud, so it is very disappointing that GBS has decided to withdraw the contracted drilling rig this late in the game. Everything else is in place so once we find a replacement drilling rig, we can start very quickly.”
The Mafraq field in Oman is a delineated and tested heavy oil field onshore Oman. A previous operator tested 15,700 barrels of heavy oil from a single well over a 23-day well test period in 1991. The plan was to start the drilling the first six wells on the field at the end of June.
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