Oman Q1 oil output up 32,000bpd

Oman boosted its oil production by around 32,000 barrels per day in the first quarter of 2011 as the Gulf nation is pursuing an ambitious programme to bolster its crude production capacity to nearly one million bpd in 2012.

Official data showed the country’s oil production climbed to one of its highest annual levels of around 887,100 bpd in the first quarter of 2011 from nearly 855,4000 bpd in the first quarter of 2010, an increase of about 3.7 per cent.

The figures by the ministry of national economy, citing the oil ministry, showed total quarterly production stood at around 79.8 million barrels compared with 76.9 million barrels in the first three months of 2010.

Output during January-March this year was still below the targeted production of nearly 900,000 bpd through 2010 but is far higher than in the previous years, when it averaged around 750,000 bpd during 2007-2009.

In recent comments, Oman’s oil minister Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhi said development plans approved by the government five years ago are targeting production of around one million bpd in 2012, the highest level since Oman began pumping crude more than three decades ago.

Al Rumhi said Oman, which is not an OPEC member, has already reached the 900,000 bpd capacity and would begin producing at that rate in 2011 following the completion of development plans in some fields.

He said the government and its foreign partners are pursuing massive expansion plans in the hydrocarbon sector to reverse a decline in previous years.

“We have reached 900,000 bpd and we expect to start producing this level in 2011…this means that we will see a steady rise in output every year,” he said.

“Our ambition is to attain an output target of one million bpd for the first time…this is a strategy and an objective, which we are working to achieve.”

In 2007, Oman approved an ambitious $10-billion programme to develop its oil and natural gas resources, which are officially estimated at around 4.5 billion barrels and 30 billion cubic metres respectively.

The plan is designed to develop gas deposits and push up oil production to previous levels. Production began recovering in 2008, when it grew by nearly 6.5 per cent to 756,000 bpd from 710,000 bpd in 2007.

Official data showed Oman pumped around RO613 million ($1.6 billion) in its crude oil sector and RO287.3 million ( $747 million) in the gas sector in 2010.

The figures showed Oman’s natural gas production totaled around 8,324 million cubic metres in the first quarter of 2011, up from about 7.86 million cubic metres in the first quarter of 2010. Non-associated gas output grew to 6,811 million cubic metres from 6,356 million cubic metres in the same period.

The figures showed China was the top importer of Omani oil in the first quarter of 2011, with supplies of around 26.5 million barrels through the three months. It was followed by India, which overtook Japan and imported around d 15.1 million barrels. Japan came third with imports of about 9.9 million barrels.