Natural gas production in Oman is expected to surpass that of oil by 2023 due to the rising development of gas fields in the country, Norway-based independent energy research and consulting firm Rystad Energy said on Tuesday.
"Gas is on the rise in Oman, and this transition is very timely," Rystad Energy analyst Aditya Saraswat said in a statement. "Oil output declines over the last two years may indicate a point of no return for Omani oil, but the country’s sliding oil production is set to be replaced by gas," he said.
Oman's oil production peaked in 2016 to reach 900,000 barrels per day (bpd), but decreased to 870,000 bpd in 2018, according to Rystad Energy. The firm said that it expects oil production to decrease by an additional 200,000 bpd by 2025 as oil production from older fields in the country continues to slump.
Furthermore, the company explained that new oilfield developments have failed to stabilize Oman's crude output, and therefore the country has shifted its focus to invest in natural gas development. Natural gas production in the Arab country is expected to reach around 130 million cubic meters per day by 2025, Rystad said.
Oman’s gas share in its oil-gas mix is also anticipated to be over 50 percent in 2025, from around 35 percent in 2015, it added. The country's gas production was around 80 million cubic meters per day from 2008 through 2016, according to Saraswat.
"Amidst rising global liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand and the increasingly lucrative domestic gas market, international players are favoring gas developments in Oman," he said. "The strengthened gas market will help gas production levels to outshine Oman’s dwindling oil production, with gas output projected to overtake oil by 2023," he concluded.
(Anadolu Agency)
