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Oman Oil Production and Exports
During the period from 1967 to 1980, crude oil
production
peaked in 1976 at 365,000 bpd but subsequently declined.
Producing fields are concentrated in the northern region
around
Jibal, Fuhud, and Natih, all three of which were
discovered in
the 1960s. The Dhofar rebellion inhibited exploration
farther
south and suspended development activity around Mamul,
discovered
in 1957 and holding 600 million barrels of gross proven
and
probable oil reserves. Because of the declining production
from
northern fields, total output fell. In 1979 average output
was
285,000 bpd.
Once hostilities ceased in 1975 and confidence in the
authority of the central government returned, southern
exploration and production activities resumed,
facilitating new
discoveries in the late 1970s and 1980s. The Rima field,
with
gross proven and probable reserves estimated at 270
million
barrels, was discovered in 1979; Amal, with 145 million
barrels
of reserves, was discovered in 1982; and Mukhaizna, with
130
million barrels, was discovered in 1985. All were brought
onstream by PDO. As a result, oil output increased
throughout the
1980s. Crude oil production averaged 708,000 bpd in 1991,
compared with 685,000 bpd in 1990 (see
table 36,
Appendix).
Output for 1992 averaged 745,000 bpd. Most of this, about
670,000
to 680,000 bpd, was lifted by PDO. According to Minister
of
Petroleum and Minerals Said Ahmad ash Shanfari, there are
plans
to maintain output at that level into the twenty-first
century.
Apart from PDO, which contributes the bulk of the
output,
three other groups have interests in the producing fields.
These
are Occidental Oman (28,000 bpd), Elf Aquitaine Oman
(15,000
bpd), and Japex Oman (8,000 bpd).
To maintain output at current levels and avoid future
declines, the government is pursuing a two-pronged
strategy of
developing smaller fields and applying EOR and secondary
techniques at existing fields. The strategy appears
successful
because 1992 was the twelfth consecutive year in which
production
increased. However, a pattern has emerged whereby the
number of
fields discovered holding large (greater than 500 million
barrels
of gross proven and probable) reserves has been declining.
The
potential for discovering fields with a reserve base and
production rates comparable to Jibal appears remote, given
Oman's
mature exploration history.
EOR techniques are applied to the mature fields. In the
north, additional wells have been drilled, and water
injection
facilities have been constructed at the Jibal field. Gas
injection is used at Fuhud and Natih. At Mamul, in the
south,
high-pressure steam injection techniques have been used
since
1985.
Most of the increase in output will come from PDO's Al
Khuwayr field in north-central Oman, where a US$500
million
development project was designed to increase the field's
output
from 25,000 bpd to more than 120,000 bpd when completed in
1993.
The project involves gas lift and water injection
facilities.
Output will compensate for falling output from existing
producing
fields. Apart from the pilot waterflood project at Al
Khuwayr,
near Izki, the Sayh Nuhaydah gas-condensate field is a
potential
candidate for an analogous waterflood development program.
More than 90 percent of oil production is exported. The
majority of Oman's exports are destined for the Far East
market.
Japan, the Republic of Korea (South Korea), Singapore,
China,
Taiwan, Thailand, and the Philippines accounted for 85
percent of
total crude exports in 1990. Japan accounted for 40
percent of
total exports, South Korea for 26 percent, and Singapore
for 7
percent. Less than 7 percent of crude exports was destined
for
the United States market.
All crude oil from the northern and southern fields is
collected and blended into Omani export blend. The
country's only
refinery and terminal is at Mina al Fahl, near Muscat. The
refinery, completed in 1982 with an initial throughput
capacity
of 50,000 bpd and expanded to 80,000 bpd in 1987, was
designed to
meet domestic demand for petroleum products. Operated by
the Oman
Oil Refinery Company, in which the Ministry of Petroleum
and
Minerals held a 99 percent share and the Central Bank of
Oman
held 1 percent, the refinery produces liquefied petroleum
gas
(LPG), butane, jet fuel, and two grades of gasoline.
Data as of January 1993
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