Field Operations
Oil Operations
Production in 2022 is maintained at 2021 rates as a result of drilling new wells, executing the Ostracod/Magwa (OST/MAG) hydraulic fracking project. Crude and condensate production averaged at 39.5 MBOPD and the black oil rate averaged at 35.8 MBOPD for the year. The end of year average crude and condensate production rate is below the target by approximately 700 BOPD. The production target was not achieved due to planned and unplanned facility shutdowns (including external party disruptions) and delays in completing some of the main projects.
Gas Operations
Total Khuff gas production averaged 1,647 Million Standard Cubic Feet per Day (MMSCFD), with a peak production rate of 2,029 MMSCFD in June 2022. Delivery to distribution points continued without interruption while supplying a daily average of 230 MMSCFD to Mauddud injection wells, 19 MMSCFD to Arab injection wells, 36 MMSCFD to Shallow injection wells, 8 MMSCFD to Heavy injection wells, and 124 MMSCFD to the Gas Lift system.
Gas Distribution
The sale and supply of gas was uninterrupted to all gas customers in the Kingdom of Bahrain during 2022, including the industrial sector and power and water producers.
1,560 MMSCFD of uninterrupted gas was supplied to thirty-four (34) active gas customers. From a supply perspective, 79% was Khuff gas, whereas approximately 21% was residue gas. From a demand perspective, both Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) and Aluminum Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) consumed approximately 72% of the supplied gas.
Non-Associated Gas (NAG)
As a continuation of the NAG Long Term Development Plan, multiple NAG strategic projects have been executed in 2022. These critical NAG projects are being completed to enhance and maintain NAG system deliverability and to establish a reliable Khuff gas supply source to meet the Kingdom’s gas demand.
Gas Distribution Network (GDN)
The Offsite Projects team have commissioned various strategic projects in 2022 in line with the GDN Five (5) Year Plan aimed at developing an advanced, reliable, and safe gas distribution network to meet the Kingdom’s growing gas demand.
Field Maintenance
In addition to core activities of carrying out Turnaround and Inspections (T&I), Preventative Maintenance jobs (PMs), and corrective work orders, the Field Maintenance department was involved in the commissioning of various new facilities.
Key Facts
Associated Gas (AG) and Oil Enhancement
To satisfy the requirement of incremental field compression to support oil production, AG Compression Phase V project was awarded in December 2019 to commission rental compressor stations RCS 9 and 10 with an incremental 105 MMSCFD of compression capacity by Q4 2020. Both RCS 9 and 10 were completed on target by 29 December 2020 to support production. Additionally, a tender for AG Compression Phase VII was issued in 2020 to install an additional 105 MMSCFD compression capacity by Q2 2022 to support incremental oil production from the Mauddud Tight Spacing Development Program.
Well Development
In 2022, seventy-three (73) new oil wells were added to the Bahrain Field that consisted of forty-six (46) gas lift wells and twenty-seven (27) BPUs. In addition, there were sixty-eight (68) existing well production conversions and nineteen (19) existing well production conversions to gas injection GI wells, which included MGI, AGI and SGI wells that also contributed to the oil gain in 2022.
Facilities Improvements
Several energy conservation, emissions compliance, and facility optimization projects were continued in 2020. The technical tender was completed for the GDU Vent Gas Recovery project, and commercial tendering is to follow with a target to award the project by April 2021. Bid evaluation is in progress for the Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS – 6 GDUs) project and contract award is expected by March 2021. Tender preparation commenced in Q4 for the retrofit of forced re-boiler burner management system for six (6) GDUs.