Shell to help Oman to halt expected decline in crude output
Shell will help independent Gulf oil producer Oman to halt an expected decline in its crude output. John Crocker,
Shell General Manager for Oman said that Shell was assisting Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) in identifying ways of
reversing the present production decline.
Shell is prepared to invest money and is confident in the future of oil recovery in Oman.
Crude output by PDO, in which Shell holds a 34 % stake, is expected to decline by more than 5 % due to depletion of
some of its oilfields, industry sources said. PDO has now revised its expected average production for 2002 to 770,000
bpd instead of its earlier target of 815,000 bpd.
PDO produces about 95 % of the non-OPEC country's total output.
Oman has substantial reserves of oil in the ground estimated at 6 bn barrels. Oman also has proven gas reserves at
around 660 mm cm (22 tcf), with potential reserves more than double that figure. But certainly no one is going to
relax until the present output drop has been halted and reversed.
Like in Gulf Arab states, oil makes up 70 % of the Oman's national income.
