Oman oil production climbs above 1m bpd in July -ministry

Oman’s crude oil and condensate production rose to more than 1 million barrels per day in July for the first time in its history, the oil and gas ministry said in its monthly report.

The sultanate has been ramping up oil production despite a global supply glut that has hit oil prices, with the Gulf Arab country looking to compensates for the drop in its oil revenue.

“The average daily production rate during July exceeded the barrier of 1 million barrels for the first time in the history of Oman’s oil industry,” the ministry said in the report published on its website.

Total oil output was up 0.5 percent from June, producing 894,156 bpd of crude oil and 106,926 bpd of condensate.

Salim Nasser al-Aufi, undersecretary at the Ministry of Oil and Gas, said the rise in output was mainly attributable to a drop in planned maintenance work and that he does not expect to reach the same level of production in August.

Oman’s July oil exports, however, fell by 12.6 per cent month on month, the ministry said, as its refineries used higher volumes of crude.

The month’s crude exports reached 796,977 bpd, with all shipments going to the Asian market, while supplying 163,062 bpd to domestic refiner Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company.

China accounted for nearly 70 per cent of total Omani crude exports in July, the ministry’s report said, with Japan taking 15 per cent.

Though a small non-OPEC oil producer, Oman’s crude oil forms part of the benchmark price for millions of barrels per day of exports from Middle East producers to Asia.