MUSCAT, Feb 9 - Gulf Arab producer Oman aims to boost total oil output for the second consecutive year in 2009 after halting a six-year production decline from ageing fields last year, a top official said on Monday.
While neighbouring members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cut output as the group races to match supply with falling global demand, Oman is moving ahead with plans to pump more. As an independent producer, Oman has said it has no plans to cut output in support of OPEC.
The country aims for total crude and oil condensate output of 805,000 bpd in 2009, up from 757,000 in 2008, Nasseral-Jashmi, the state undersecretary for oil and gas, told Reuters at a news conference hosted by state-controlled Petroleum Development Oman.
Total oil output in 2008 rose 47,000 bpd from 2007, Jashmi said. That was the first year of growth since output peaked in 2001 at 956,000 bpd, official data showed.
News of Saudi Arabia's move to maintain steady oil supplies to major Asian buyers in March and Oman's rising output drove global benchmark U.S. crude prices down 25 cents to $39.92 a barrel CLc1. [ID:nT133621]
The Gulf Arab state is a small independent producer but its crude oil forms part of the benchmark price for around 12 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude exports from Middle East producers to Asia.
As part of efforts to boost output, it plans to award five exploration deals to international oil firms this year, Jashmi said. Oman has spent heavily on new technology to enhance oil output from its old, depleted fields.
State-controlled oil producer Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), raised crude output in 2008 for the first time in eight years, PDO said on Monday.
But PDO was expecting to spend less on exploration in 2009 than the $371 million it spent in 2008 as the fall in oil pricestightens its spending budget, said Managing Director John Malcolm at the briefing.
"In 2009, this figure will be significantly lower on the back of a decline in oil prices," Malcolm said. PDO, Oman's largest producer, boosted crude production 5,000 barrels per day (bpd) on the year in 2008 to 566,000 bpd, it
said. PDO's crude output peaked at 840,000 bpd in 2000.
Target crude output for 2009 was unchanged at 540,000 bpd to 560,000 bpd, PDO said. The Omani producer is 34 percent owned by Shell. Including oil condensates, PDO's output stood at 633,000 bpd in 2008, up from 607,000 bpd in 2007, it said.
The following is Oman's 2009 target and total oil production (crude and condensates) in bpd since 1999, according to official data:
2009: 805,000 2008: 757,000 2007: 710,000 2006: 738,000 2005: 774,000 2004: 780,000 2003: 819,000 2002: 897,000 2001: 956,000 2000: 955,000 1999: 904,000
While neighbouring members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cut output as the group races to match supply with falling global demand, Oman is moving ahead with plans to pump more. As an independent producer, Oman has said it has no plans to cut output in support of OPEC.
The country aims for total crude and oil condensate output of 805,000 bpd in 2009, up from 757,000 in 2008, Nasseral-Jashmi, the state undersecretary for oil and gas, told Reuters at a news conference hosted by state-controlled Petroleum Development Oman.
Total oil output in 2008 rose 47,000 bpd from 2007, Jashmi said. That was the first year of growth since output peaked in 2001 at 956,000 bpd, official data showed.
News of Saudi Arabia's move to maintain steady oil supplies to major Asian buyers in March and Oman's rising output drove global benchmark U.S. crude prices down 25 cents to $39.92 a barrel CLc1. [ID:nT133621]
The Gulf Arab state is a small independent producer but its crude oil forms part of the benchmark price for around 12 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude exports from Middle East producers to Asia.
As part of efforts to boost output, it plans to award five exploration deals to international oil firms this year, Jashmi said. Oman has spent heavily on new technology to enhance oil output from its old, depleted fields.
State-controlled oil producer Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), raised crude output in 2008 for the first time in eight years, PDO said on Monday.
But PDO was expecting to spend less on exploration in 2009 than the $371 million it spent in 2008 as the fall in oil pricestightens its spending budget, said Managing Director John Malcolm at the briefing.
"In 2009, this figure will be significantly lower on the back of a decline in oil prices," Malcolm said. PDO, Oman's largest producer, boosted crude production 5,000 barrels per day (bpd) on the year in 2008 to 566,000 bpd, it
said. PDO's crude output peaked at 840,000 bpd in 2000.
Target crude output for 2009 was unchanged at 540,000 bpd to 560,000 bpd, PDO said. The Omani producer is 34 percent owned by Shell. Including oil condensates, PDO's output stood at 633,000 bpd in 2008, up from 607,000 bpd in 2007, it said.
The following is Oman's 2009 target and total oil production (crude and condensates) in bpd since 1999, according to official data:
2009: 805,000 2008: 757,000 2007: 710,000 2006: 738,000 2005: 774,000 2004: 780,000 2003: 819,000 2002: 897,000 2001: 956,000 2000: 955,000 1999: 904,000
