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PDO sets new production record of 1.293m boepd

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New milestones: Average daily oil production for 2016 was 600,197 bpd, the highest since 2005


Business Reporter -


MUSCAT, APRIL 3 -


Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) confirmed yesterday that it set a new combined oil, gas and condensate production record of 1.293 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2016.


The achievement was secured whilst reducing capital and operating expenditure and thanks to continuous improvement in drilling, well and reservoir management and project delivery.


To boost near-term cashflow and reduce reliance on government funding, PDO cut planned 2017 expenditure by almost $1.5 billion through project optimisation and re-phasing, closer collaboration with contractors and a further comprehensive review and challenge of costs across the organisation.


The company pledged to continue to drive cost reduction opportunities to improve the country’s budgetary position, including through its Lean business efficiency programme, which has to date generated more than $400 million in terms of extra revenue, cost reduction or avoidance.


At the same time, it increased its investment in its In-Country Value (ICV) programme to boost Omani business and generate almost 7,800 employment opportunities for young jobseekers, both in the oil and gas industry and other sectors of the economy, contributing to a total of almost 30,000 since 2011.


The average PDO daily oil production for 2016 was 600,197 bpd, the highest since 2005 and more than 15,000 bpd above the original planned target. Annual condensate production was 81,325 bpd against a yearly target of 76,800 bpd, helped by a strong performance from wells at Kauther, Rabab and Khouloud. Average government gas production during the year was 80.24 million m3/d against 81.07 million m3/d in 2015.


Commenting on the 2016 performance, PDO Managing Director Raoul Restucci (pictured) said: “I am pleased to announce that in another year dominated by the low global oil price, PDO exceeded performance expectations, delivering a significant improvement across a broad range of functional and asset targets.


“Our philosophy and strategy have been simple and consistent: working to ‘stay the course’ while addressing value creation, cost control and continuous improvement in every facet of our business. This approach has helped to steer us through the difficulties caused by the low oil price environment and to build solid foundations for the future. “The recessionary climate has meant established ways of working have required a paradigm shift in mindset to significantly improve capital efficiency and deliver competitive projects. However, the ability of our staff and contractors to adapt and work more collaboratively has enabled us to exceed targets across the board.”


PDO confirmed it was well placed to develop growth plans to further raise our plateau levels and create more value for Oman when the production restrictions are lifted.


“With our partners at Shell, we have identified 46 opportunities for incremental development that could yield in excess of 700 million barrels of recoverable reserves and raise our production plateau.”


In 2016, PDO’s Exploration Directorate sought new sources of low unit technical cost hydrocarbons to create value and meet customer needs. It exceeded its 2016 delivery targets, booking a total of 86.4 million barrels of oil, 0.45 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of non-associated gas and 24.3 million barrels of condensate as commercial contingent resource (CCR) volumes. Major oil discoveries of the year included the Shammar play opening, which unlocked 40 million barrels of CCR volumes from the shallow, high-permeability reservoir in the Lekhwair field.


The exploration and production efforts were underpinned by an intensification of well activities, with 644 oil and gas production and exploration wells drilled, 33 above plan and a 12 per cent increase on 2015. There were also 19,600 well interventions, a 49 per cent increase on the 2015 total of 13,190 activities with a similar well entry and work-over fleet.


Despite the heavier workload, the Well Engineering Directorate realised considerable savings in well delivery against the approved budget, through a multitude of Lean business efficiency projects and innovative contracting strategies. The cost per metre drilled fell 8 per cent from 2015, the lowest since 2010, with well delivery 3 per cent under budget despite being 5 per cent ahead of plan. Beyond cost reductions, this effort contributed to also achieving 10 per cent extra oil than planned from new wells.


PDO achieved the majority of its corporate project delivery milestones on or ahead of plan, and all were delivered within the year. Three major projects — Yibal depletion compression phase 3, Mabrouk phase 2, and Ghaba North gas oil gravity drainage were delivered successfully.


The Company disclosed that the Rabab Harweel integrated project — the largest capital project in PDO with a reserve add of more than 500 million boe — is on schedule, while the Yibal Khuff project, which involves the simultaneous development of a number of sour oil and gas reservoirs, is ahead of schedule with construction beginning last year.


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