BP brings Khazzan gas onstream

BP, together with the Ministry of Oil and Gas of the Sultanate of Oman, commenced Phase 1 production from the giant Khazzan gas field in late September, reportedly ahead of schedule and under budget. The field is operated by BP (60%) in partnership with Oman Oil Company Exploration and Production (40%).

The start of production from Khazzan is BP’s sixth and largest major project start-up so far this year and is an important milestone in the company’s strategic partnership with Oman.

BP expects to start-up seven upstream major projects in 2017 – making it one of the most important years for commissioning new projects in the company’s history. These seven projects are expected to make a significant contribution to the 800,000 boe/d of production that BP expects to add by 2020.

Khazzan is utilising tight gas techniques that BP perfected in the US. The field’s tight gas reserves lie at depths of up to 5 km in narrow bands of extremely hard, dense rock. These complex and challenging conditions require specialised drilling equipment, the precise drilling of both vertical and horizontal wells, and well stimulation to free the gas.

Phase 1 of the Khazzan development is made up of 200 wells feeding into a two-train central processing facility. Production is expected to plateau at 1bn cf/d of gas. Once the second phase of the Khazzan is fully up and running production is expected rise to 1.5bn cf/d. In total, approximately 300 wells are expected to be drilled over the estimated lifetime of the Khazzan field. Phases 1 and 2 will together develop an estimated 10.5tn cf of recoverable gas resources.

Photo: Drilling rig on Khazzan

Source: BP