PDO Announces Large Gas Find in Oman

Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) March 19 announced the discovery of a large natural gas reservoir in the Mabrouk gas field located north of its concession area.

Recoverable volumes are estimated at more than 4 trillion ft³ of natural gas and 112mn barrels of condensate, state owned Oman News Agency reported the same day. The announcement was made during the annual press conference held by the Oman’s ministry of oil and gas.

A total of five wells have been drilled in the field and all have encountered gas. Work is on for two further appraisal wells, with plans for the expansion of production infrastructure.

The Mabrouk gas field is in the central part of Oman and was discovered in 1981. PDO had in 2013 also announced a gas discovery in Mabrouk field.

The ministry during the press conference also said that Oman added gas reserves of 4.97 trillion ft³ last year, taking total gas reserves to 24.96 trillion ft³ at end-2017, up by around 3.81 trillion ft³ compared with 2016. The major contributors were the Khazzan and Ghazeer fields.

PDO is 60%-owned by the Government of Oman, 34% by Shell, 4% by Total, and 2% by Portuguese firm Partex.