Upstream operator Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is expected to advance projects in the Bahja-Rima cluster of oil fields to reach 94,000 barrel a-day production by 2021, according to the Central Bank of Oman’s 2016 annual report.

Bahja, one of PDO’s largest fields spanning an area of 30,560 square kilometres in the south is estimated to have reserves of about 7 billion barrels of oil.

Growth on the oil field cluster is expected to average 45 per cent derived mostly from conventional, low unit technical cost projects.

“Considerable developments have been made in the Bahja North and South fields, which contain oil-in-place in excess of 1.7 billion barrels,” the report said.

“The considered ‘small’ fields provide elevated opportunity to drive growth in mature low cost per barrel cluster This would be a very significant feat in the current challenging, and capital-constrained environment,” it added.

The Ghaba North in the Qarn Alam cluster is also set to reach peak production in 2017, with field recovery expected at 20 per cent. 

Oman’s maturing oil fields and mountainous terrain has made upstream exploration challenging, leading to the exit of several international oil companies in 2014.

The sultanate has since launched an international bid round but has favoured exploration license awards to smaller domestic operators.

Non-Opec Oman is also compliant with the extended Opec production cuts in place since January 2017 to stabilise oil prices. Its average annual production however, managed to cross a million barrel-a-day mark for the first time in 2016.

Oil exploration companies in Oman drilled 53 exploration wells, of which 29 were drilled by PDO alone. Total oil and condensate reserves for the sultanate were estimated at 5.25 billion barrels in 2016, which was a decline of 2.4 per cent from 2015, according to the central bank.