Muscat – Masirah Oil Ltd, who holds 100 per cent ownership and the operator of the Block 50 Oman, has announced that it plans to expand the drilling operations in the offshore Block 50 concession.

The company has started preparations for a targeted drilling campaign after the monsoon season has started and plans to drill one firm well and one optional well. Selection of a drilling rig contractor to drill the two wells is ongoing, the company said.

‘The first well will establish the eastern extent of the Yumna field. Then it will be potentially deepened to test a major prospect within the Khufai carbonate (a proven producer from other concessions onshore of Oman),’ Masirah Oil said in a statement released by its Singapore-based parent Rex International Holding Limited.

If the Khufai prospect is proven to be commercial, it can be produced at very low cost from the existing Yumna field facilities, the company further said.

‘The second well, an optional exploration well, is under review. Recent geological interpretation has identified several significant prospects (Yumna analogues and additional Khufai carbonate opportunities),’ according to Masirah Oil.

A reinterpretation of gravity and magnetics studies has resulted in potential areas of interest covering the sub-Melange prospects. The new encouraging findings indicate the covering rock to be less onerous for drilling. To further exploit these opportunities, a 3D seismic survey covering 15 sqkm using ocean-bottom-nodes is being planned. It is anticipated that seismic acquisition will start in late March 2022.

Furthermore, the previous floating storage tanker has been replaced by a new floating storage tanker and the replacement will allow for the tanker to be in the field for several years without the need for dry-docking.

During the change-out in February and March 2022, the production was shut-in for 24 days. Production has since resumed, Masirah Oil said.

A change-out of the Mobile Offshore Production Unit (MOPU) is also underway with upgraded facilities on-board and the upgraded facilities will allow for greater liquid handling capacity and longer time in the field.

Dan Broström, executive chairman of Rex, said, “Our key focus is to increase production and reserves. With Brent oil price presently above US$120 per barrel and increased market demand for oil under current economic and geo-political circumstances, it makes more sense to invest in our existing assets for higher realisation of cash flow in the near term than to procure new assets at high valuation.”