Page 11 - MEOG Week 26

MEOG P ro J e C ts & C om Panies MEOG

Positive signs from Oman

oman WORK has begun on up- and downstream pro- with the installations 99% ready for the start of
jects in Oman, coming as welcome news as the production.
Middle East oil & gas sector looks to rebound In a statement to Oman News Agency
from the challenges of q1 2020. (ONA), BP Oman chairman eng. Yousef bin
The Netherlands’ Mammoet, a specialist in Mohammed Al-Ojaili said that production of
engineered heavy lifting and transport equip- gas from the company’s Khazzan gas project
ment, has delivered key equipment to a 230,000 which began in 2017 now stood at 1bn cubic
barrel per day (bpd) refinery under construction feet (28.3 mcm) per day and it will rise to 1.5 bcf
in the port of Duqm in Oman, it said on June 24. (42.48 mcm) a day.
Mammoet secured a contract from a local The company also produces 35,000 barrels of
manufacturer covering inland and sea trans- condensates per day, and this rate is set to double
port of nine LPG storage tanks. The 780-tonne with the start of production at the Ghazeer gas
storage tanks were built at a fabrication yard in project, he added.
Sohar and then loaded onto a barge for shipment Drilling at the company’s sites is in full swing,
to Duqm. From Duqm, they were transported 25 said Al-Ojaili, noting that 126 wells had been
km by Mammoet to the project site. drilled at Khazzan and Ghazeer, out of a planned
Once at the refinery, they were positioned by 300 wells over 15 years.
Mammoet using 1,500-tonne and 1,250-tonne Al-Ojaili pointed out that the company has
capacity cranes. so far proceeded with $9.3bn-worth of invest-
“By managing the complete logistics chain ments out of a target of $16bn planned for Block
from the fabrication yard to the Duqm refinery, 61, which houses the Khazzan and Ghazeer pro-
Mammoet was able to ensure timely and safe jects. He reaffirmed that BP Oman was intending
delivery of the bullets,” the company said. to develop its business towards the production
Mammoet received a second contract from of 10.5 trillion cubic feet (297bn cubic metres)
Kuwait’s Agility Global Logistics for the trans- from renewable gas resources at Block 61 and
port of reactors. One of the reactors weighed pointed out that gas produced by the company
1,130 tonnes, making it the heaviest cargo ever would considerably enhance the stability of sup-
to be unloaded at Duqm. Mammoet has also plies from local resources.
deployed hydraulic and crawler cranes to assist In 2016, BP and Oman Oil Company Explo-
other subcontractors at the project. ration & Production (OOCEP) signed a revised
“We are delighted to have successfully com- petroleum agreement with the Ministry of Oil
pleted our scope for the Duqm refinery. The and Gas to expand the concession area in Block
close collaboration with the entire project team, 61 for the Khazzan project to ensure its develop-
including our clients, the Port of Duqm and ment through well-controlled quotas.
the local authorities, enabled us to successfully He explained that, as per the agreement, the
deliver all key equipment safely and within the expansion would extend the concession area of
deadlines set,” the general manager of Mam- Block 61 south and west by about 1,000 sq km,
moet’s Oman branch, Vishal Buddhadev, said in to be added to the project’s existing area of about
a statement. 2,700 sq km.
Meanwhile WEG, a Brazilian manufac- The expansion will enable BP to start the sec-
turer of rotating electrical machines and drives, ond phase of developing the field in order to get
announced this week it had won contracts at additional resources of gas in the area demar-
both Duqm and Oman’s Ras Markaz oil storage cated during exploratory drilling operations.
facility. The company hailed the Duqm deal is Oq (formerly Oman Oil and ORPIC Group)
one of its largest ever in the Middle East. owns 30% of the project, while Petronas owns
WEG will deliver a range of energy-efficiency 10% and BP 60%. BP Oman is the operator of the
hazardous area motors and drives to equip the oil project, said the ONA report.™
refinery with power for its pumps, compressors
and blowers.
The Duqm refinery is a joint Oman-Ku-
wait venture and is due to come on stream in
2021. Omani officials recently insisted that this
remained on schedule, despite the coronavirus
(COVID-19) crisis. The lead contractors behind
the project are the uK’s Petrofac, South Korea’s
Samsung Engineering and Daewoo, Spain’s Tec-
nicas Reunidas and Italy’s Saipem.
Ghazeer start-up
Meanwhile, BP Oman is preparing for the
launch of the 500mn cubic foot (14.16mn
cubic metre) gas project at the Ghazeer field,

Week 26 01•July•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P11