MUSCAT: The first of three new development wells targeting the offshore Yumna Field in Block 50 off Oman’s eastern seaboard will be drilled starting next month, marking a renewed campaign to bolster oil output from the Sultanate of Oman’s only producing field off the country’s east coast.
Oman-based Masirah Oil Limited (MOL), the operator of the 17,000 km² concession in the Gulf of Masirah, said a contract to this end has been signed with Northern Offshore Drilling Operations Ltd, which will deploy its Energy Emerger jackup drilling rig to undertake the three-well campaign. Signing the contract on behalf of MOL is Rex Oman Ltd, which owns a majority stake in the company.
Announcing the imminent start of the new drilling campaign, Mike Hopkinson, General Manager of MOL, said: “With funding and the rig now in place, we are focused on executing this drilling programme seamlessly to drill new producer wells, increase oil flow rates and extend the lifespan of the Yumna Field in Block 50, Oman”.
The move comes on the heels of a successful fundraise through the issuance of senior secured bonds worth $25 million last December. Jasmine Energy Limited, a subsidiary of Singapore-based majority shareholder Rex International Holding, announced at the time that proceeds from the bond issuance would help fund the drilling campaign, among other corporate costs.
Significantly, Energy Emerger returns to Block 50 two years after it successfully completed a similar multi-well programme in the Yumna Field in early 2024. The programme included the drilling of the Yumna-5 well, which started production in April 2024, as well as workovers of three existing production wells.
The new campaign will help bolster output, which dwindled to an average of 1,032 stock tank barrels per day (stb/d) in December 2025, down from 2,333 stb/d in January that year.
Last year, MOL commissioned prominent UK-based energy consultant Gneiss Energy to determine potential exploration locations to support the operator’s exploration and development plans for Block 50. A key goal of that exercise was also to help identify a potential farm-in partner for the exploration and development of the licence.
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