Oman's Khazzan project has cut the cost of drilling wells by 40 per cent, Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Oil and Gas, has been quoted as saying.

 

At a press conference held on the occasion of the start of production at the project on Tuesday, Al Aufi said the first phase of the project was completed at a cost of $1.7-1.9 billion as against the estimated cost of $2.1 billion, a report in Oman Daily Observer said.

 

He also said the project was completed ahead of its scheduled time of November, thanks to the efforts made by

BP, the operator at Khazzan field under a joint agreement with Oman Oil Exploration and Production

Company. 

 

According to him, the first train of the project will have the capacity to carry 500 million cu feet of gas

The second train, with the same capacity, will be completed by the end of this year, taking the total production from the field to one billion cubic feet per day.

 

He said the country’s gas reserves now stood at 20 billion cubic feet. Despite the flow of gas from the

Khazzan project, Oman will continue to import gas from the Dolphin Gas project to meet the needs of industrial projects and the industrial zone in the Wilayat of Suhar.

 

Asked about the gas requirements of projects, he said the problem was not the quantity, but the price desired by the projects which is not commensurate with the price of $3 set by the government for the power sector along with a 3 per cent increase every year.