MUSCAT, OCT 25
Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has awarded global energy technology company SLB a five-year contract for integrated well stimulation and hydraulic fracturing services in Block 6, the company’s latest agreement to support oil and gas production in the Sultanate of Oman.
The contract was disclosed in SLB’s third-quarter financial results released on October 23. It covers advanced reservoir stimulation, well intervention, fracturing automation and digital technologies aimed at improving well productivity and reservoir performance. SLB did not disclose the value of the contract, the number of wells involved or the specific fields where the services will be provided.
The award builds on a longstanding relationship between the two companies, with SLB having previously undertaken hydraulic fracturing and other well services for PDO. In 2021, SLB, then known as Schlumberger, announced a five-year contract covering high-pressure hydraulic fracturing and stimulation services for up to 350 wells in Oman. That agreement included options for two additional two-year extensions.
The latest disclosure does not indicate whether the new contract replaces the earlier arrangement or covers a separate programme. The announcement also comes less than six months after PDO awarded Omani contractor Abraj Energy Services a separate five-year hydraulic fracturing contract worth approximately RO 120 million.
Announced in May, the Abraj agreement extended and upgraded existing services, including the deployment of an additional fracturing fleet and the introduction of more advanced operations involving gas wells. Abraj subsequently confirmed that the contract had added RO 120 million to its order backlog, which reached RO 953 million at the end of June.
The two awards reflect PDO’s continued reliance on specialised well services. Hydraulic fracturing is used to improve the movement of oil and gas through underground rock formations, particularly in reservoirs where hydrocarbons are more difficult to extract. For operators, the technique can help improve the performance of existing wells and support the recovery of resources that might otherwise be challenging to produce. The results, however, depend on the characteristics of individual reservoirs and the effectiveness of the work carried out.
The latest contract adds to SLB’s growing portfolio of services for PDO. In January, the company announced two other five-year agreements covering wellhead equipment and artificial lift technologies for Block 6.
Those contracts included plans to manufacture wellheads at SLB’s Rusayl facility and assemble electric submersible pumps at its Nizwa centre, supporting local manufacturing and technical capabilities.
The award comes as both international service providers and Omani contractors continue to supply the technologies and expertise needed for the country’s upstream oil and gas operations.
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