Goal to ramp up reserves, production from Omani Block 50

@conradprabhu –

Buoyed by resurgent international oil prices, the biggest shareholder in Masirah Oil Limited (MOL) – the operator of Block 50 offshore the Sultanate of Oman’s eastern seaboard – says it plans to boost production and reserves in the Block.

Singapore-based Rex International, whose Omani subsidiary Rex Oman holds a roughly 92 per cent interest in Masirah Oil Limited, said the company’s objectives, going forward, are to increase output and the reserves potential of the hydrocarbon assets in its international portfolio, which includes Block 50 off Masirah Island.

“Rex’s goals are to increase production and reserves in the Company’s three operation areas: Oman, Norway and Malaysia. With Brent oil price presently above US$80 per barrel, we consider this our first priority,” said Dan Broström, Executive Chairman of Rex International.

Block 50, a roughly 17,000 square kilometre concession, is home to the Yumna field – billed as the first producing oilfield located off the country’s east coast. In July 2020, the Omani Ministry of Energy and Minerals approved a field development plan for the Yumna field, greenlighting the start of commercial development of the reservoir.

Describing 2021 as a “transformation year” for the company, Rex pointed out that the company has undertaken a total of 12 liftings of crude from Block 50 during 2021, which was significantly higher than the corresponding figure for 2020. Those liftings are enabled by the deployment of a Mobile Offshore Production Unit (MOPU) with a capacity to process up to 30,000 barrels per day of hydrocarbons produced by a total of three production wells already drilled on the Yumna field.

Also in 2021, Masirah Oil saw prices realised from oil sales rise to $62 per barrel in the first half of the year, up from “an unprecedented low” of $23 per barrel during the first half of 2020. By the end of2021, Brent oil prices had crept up to around $80 per barrel, it noted.

Three exploration wells drilled in 2021, while failing to yield any hydrocarbons, “confirmed the extents of the good quality Lower Aruma sandstone”, said Rex International. The results will help to “refine understanding of the trap mechanisms in the area and future development of the field”, it added.

Last month, Rex International announced that its wholly owned local subsidiary Rex Oman had completed the process of increasing its stake in Masirah Oil Limited to 91.81 per cent of the latter’s total issued capital. Masirah Oil Limited holds a 100 per cent interest in Block 50.