Oman’s first oilfield off east coast gets nod for development

A promising offshore oilfield – the first to be discovered off Oman’s eastern seaboard – has been greenlighted for commercial development, a key stakeholder in the concession announced over the weekend. Singapore-based Rex International Holding Limited said Oman’s Ministry of Oil and Gas recently approved the Field Development Plan (FDP) for the Yumna Field in Block 50, an offshore concession encompassing the waters around Masirah Island off the Sultanate’s east coast. A Declaration of Commerciality has also been announced for the field, effectively marking the start of commercial production for the first time from the Block. The announcement caps a multi-year effort by Rex International subsidiary Masirah Oil Limited, which has a 100 per cent interest in Block 50, in exploring and appraisal the potential of the Yumna Field, among other prospects in the concession. “The ‘Declaration of Commerciality’ will enable Rex’s subsidiary Masirah Oil Ltd to fully develop the Yumna Field while continuing to explore the rest of Block 50 Oman. Masirah Oil is grateful for the strong support provided by the Ministry of Oil and Gas in achieving this significant milestone,” Rex International said in a press statement. The Yumna oilfield, previously known as GA South Field, is home to the GA South #1 discovery, which was made in early 2014. At the time, Masirah Oil announced a first-ever hydrocarbon find in the 17,000 sq km concession off the Sultanate’s east coast. During a second exploration well drilled in the concession, hydrocarbons were flowed to the surface and the well achieved a restricted flow rate of 3,500 barrels per day of light oil of high quality without water production from a sandstone reservoir of excellent quality. Last December, Masirah Oil began drilling the Yumna 1 well to appraise the Yumna oilfield.  Early production testing commenced in January this year with oil produced during the field appraisal stored temporarily on an Aframax tanker. “The Yumna 1 well has so far produced more than one million barrels of oil and is currently producing over 8,000 barrels of oil per day through a 1 inch choke with 440 psig flowing tubing-head pressure. The first three cargoes of Masirah crude were lifted and sold in April, May and June 2020. Liftings were successfully completed from the first offshore ship-to-ship transfers in Oman,” Rex International further noted. A Mobile Offshore Production Unit (MOPU) installed at since in May this year, together with the Aframax storage tanker, now constitute the permanent offshore production facilities, it stated. “We are very pleased with the progress in Oman. This is a major milestone achieved. I commend the local team for the great execution. Progressing to production will fundamentally change our corporate profile,” said Dan Broström, Executive Chairman of Rex. Singapore-based oilfield technology firm Rex International Holding Limited holds an effective interest of 86.37 per cent in Masirah Oil through its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, Rex Oman Ltd. Petroci, the National Oil Company of the Ivory Coast and Schroder & Co Banque SA also own minority stakes in Masirah Oil.