Twitter erupted with compliments and felicitations to BP Oman on Saturday as the production and processing of natural gas from Khazzan gas field in Block 61 commenced over the weekend.
While there was no formal confirmation from BP Oman itself, pictures of the Central Processing Facility posted on social media showed a large flare flickering over the sprawling site.
Various commendatory tweets posted by Oil and Gas executives described the start of production from Khazzan as an “important milestone” and a “special day” for Oman’s upstream energy sector, given Block 61’s prodigious natural gas potential.
First gas from Khazzan — part of an estimated $16 billion investment pledged by BP Oman in the development of the Block’s tight gas reserves — represents a game-changer for the Sultanate’s increasingly gas-dependent industrial, petrochemicals and power and water sectors.
Output from the Central Processing Facility is expected to reach 1 billion cubic feet (bcf) per day before the end of this year, rising to 1.5 bcf/d once the second phase of the Khazzan project is fully up and running in 2020. Full development of the Khazzan field centres on the drilling of around 300 wells over a 15-year period to delivery plateau production of 1 bcf (or 28.3 million cubic metres) of gas per day. This volume will effectively boost Oman’s gas output by around a third of its total daily supply.
Initial output from the Khazzan gas field will be processed by the first of two trains that constitute the Central Processing Facility in Block 61. Work on a second train is underway and is due to be operational in 2018.
BP is the lead partner in Block 61 with a 60-per cent interest. Oman Oil Company for Exploration and Production (OOCEP), the upstream energy arm of Oman Oil Company (OOC), holds the balance.
Conrad Prabhu
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