Muscat – Masirah Oil Limited, the operator of Block 50 offshore Oman, announced the completion of its fourth-quarter 2022 drilling campaign which consisted of a workover of the Yumna-3 well and drilling of the Yumna-4 well.

Drilling operations were conducted in Block 50 offshore Oman in which Masirah Oil holds a 100 per cent interest.

The workover of Yumna-3 consisted of replacing the electrical submersible pump (ESP) in the well. With the new ESP, Yumna-3 is now producing an average of 4,050 barrels of oil equivalent (bopd) as compared to 3,590 bopd with the previous ESP, Masirah Oil said in a press statement.

It said that Yumna-4 well was drilled as a dual objective well to test (a) the eastern extension of the Aruma reservoirs of the Yumna Field and (b) an exploration target below and north-east of the field.

‘The well was successful at the Aruma level, where it penetrated 9.6 metres of net oil pay, consistent with the pre-drill prognosis. The well was completed for production and has flowed at 4,050 bopd. The flow rate has yet to stabilise,’ the company said.

‘After drilling to the Aruma target and setting a casing, the well was deepened and directionally drilled to the north-east to test a structural closure in the Khufai carbonate formation at about 3,000 metres. The well reached a total depth of 3,416 metres. Oil shows were encountered in the Khufai and 16.5 metres of core was recovered from the formation. The core has been sent to a laboratory for detailed analysis,’ Masirah Oil said.

However, the planned formation evaluation programme could not be completed due to a stuck wireline tool which could not be recovered from the borehole. Results of the core analysis will likely determine if additional drilling/evaluation of this Khufai prospect is justified, the company added.

Giving the production update for December 2022, Masirah Oil said that gross oil production in December 2022 from the Yumna Field amounted to an average of 4,673 stock tank barrels per day over 31 days.

‘This period includes three days of reduced production due to the Simultaneous Operations (SIMOPS) programme with Yumna-4 drilling activities and two days of production shutdown based on demobilisation of the drilling rig after the drilling campaign,’ Masirah Oil added.