Jack-up rig kicks off multi-well offshore drilling campaign in Oman

Masirah Oil, a subsidiary of Singapore’s Rex International, has embarked on a multi-well drilling program at a field in the Block 50 concession off the coast of Oman with a recently hired jack-up rig.

The start of drilling operations comes a month after Masirah Oil picked the Energy Emerger jack-up rig, operated by Northern Offshore, to undertake the drilling and completion of a new in-field well and the work-over of two existing production wells at the Yumna field. The rig’s assignment was slated to begin in mid-March 2024, however, the spudding of the Yumna-5 well started on March 28.

According to Masirah Oil, the well will be drilled at the crest of the structure to drain attic oil left un-swept by the current producers. Once the Energy Emerger jack-up rig wraps up the drilling activities at the Yumna-5 well, it will move to the next task in this multi-well drilling campaign, which entails the work-over of Yumna-2 and Yumna-3 existing production wells.

This drilling program is expected to take about 90 days. The 2017-built Energy Emerger jack-up rig is of a GustoMSC CJ46-X100-D design. With a maximum drilling depth of 30,000 ft, the rig can work in water depths up to 375 ft.

While Masirah Oil has a 100% interest in the Block 50 concession, Rex International holds an effective interest of 91.81% in the company. The field development plan (FDP) for Yumna was approved in July 2020 by Oman’s Ministry of Oil and Gas.

Following the completion of the drilling of three exploration prospects, located near the Yumna field offshore Oman, back in April 2021, upgrades were made to the field’s production facilities from February to April 2022.

As a result, a new floating storage tanker, certified to be in the field for several years without dry-docking, was put in place instead of the previous one. Covering approximately 17,000 sq km, the Block 50 offshore concession is located in the Gulf of Masirah, east of Oman.