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CCED output rises 25pc to 40,400 bpd in 2016

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Strong uptrend: Sustained investment lifts Blocks 3&4 production


Conrad Prabhu -


Muscat, April 24 -


Independent oil and gas exploration and production company CC Energy Development (CCED) achieved an average crude production of 40,400 barrels per day (bpd) in 2016, sustaining a strong uptrend in output from its Block 3 & 4 licence in central Oman.


This entails a 25.1 per cent increase over the previous year’s average output, the Ministry of Oil & Gas said in a review of the company’s operational performance in 2016.


Output from the two blocks, covering an aggregate area of 34,600 sq km, has grown steadily since December 2012, when the company formally declared commerciality.


From the acquisition of the licence in 2008 to the commencement of early production in Q2 2010 and first oil two years thereafter, the privately owned Lebanese upstream oil and gas firm pursued an aggressive programme of development that has effectively placed CCED among the top five oil producers in the Sultanate.


Crude production totalled around 14.8 million barrels in 2016, while associated gas output amounted to 156 million cubic metres during the year. CCED’s share of Omani crude exports, which amounted to 321.9 million barrels in 2016, was around 2.5 per cent. Significantly, the company drilled a total of three wells last year as part of an on-going commitment to augmenting exploration and production facilities in its licence.


In 2016, CCED pledged to invest around $340 million towards developing the hydrocarbon potential of the two blocks. This came on top of an estimated $1.3 billion already invested in the two adjoining blocks since CCED acquired operatorship of the licence in 2009.


Of late, CCED has also focused on supporting the development of new so-called ‘Super Local Community Contractors’ (LCCs), which are essentially local Omani small businesses and individual investors hailing from the operator’s concession area. Through coaching, mentorship and training, CCED aims to help them achieve international competency and quality standards.


Recently, the company signed an MoU with the Ministry of Manpower and Riyada to support the Tahfeez initiative, centring on a landmark effort to create 1,878 employment opportunities for Omanis through the development of small and medium enterprises.


CCED has a 50 per cent interest in Blocks 3 & 4 and is also the operator of the licence. The balance is shared between Tethys Oil and Mitsui.


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