West Bukha field delivers first oil offshore Oman

RAK Petroleum has commenced production from the West Bukha field in Oman's Block 8 located offshore in the Strait of Hormuz. Initial flow rates are 10,000 barrels of 42 degree API gravity oil and 30 mm cfpd of associated gas from two wells produced through a recently installed six-slot unmanned platform located in 90 meters of water some 25 km from the Musandam Peninsula.
"With the start-up of West Bukha, we are pleased to celebrate two significant milestones," stated Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of RAK Petroleum's Board of Directors. "This is the first offshore oil field to come on stream in the Sultanate of Oman and it is also the first important producing project completed by our company."

West Bukha was first discovered in 1976 but was believed to be a gas condensate field and abandoned as non-commercial. Drilling of appraisal wells between 2006 and 2008, including an extended horizontal section, by RAK Petroleum demonstrated significant oil productivity from the Mishriff-Maudud and Thamama reservoirs, leading to the development of the field.
Production is tied through a subsea 12-inch multiphase flow line to the nearby Bukha production platform. The Bukha gas condensate field, also in Block 8, was developed in 1994 and today can flow an additional 10 to 15 mm cfpd of non-associated gas. Output from the two fields is transported through a 16-inch, 33-km multiphase flow line to shore for processing at the Khor Khwair plant in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah. Oil and condensate are slated for export while gas is delivered to industrial and commercial users in the Emirate.

"While the internal field structure is complex, we believe that West Bukha has additional untapped potential which we will continue to appraise and exploit in close consultation with Oman's Ministry of Oil and Gas and our partners," noted Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani, RAK Petroleum's Managing Director and Chairman of its Board of Directors Executive Committee.
He added that notwithstanding lower world oil prices, the company expects to recover its share of the approximate $ 250 mm investment in West Bukha within 30 months of first production.

The company's subsidiary, RAK Petroleum Oman, is Operator of Block 8 with a 40 % participating interest, with LG International of Korea holding a 50 % participating interest and UK-listed Heritage Oil holding the remaining 10 %.
RAK Petroleum is registered in the Free Trade Zone of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah and is operator of eight other blocks located in the Sultanate of Oman and in the United Arab Emirates, of which six are in the exploration phase and two are undergoing appraisal for possible redevelopment.