Oman’s daily oil output tops 1 MMbopd for first time

MUSCAT (Bloomberg) -- Oman, the biggest oil producer in the Middle East outside OPEC, said its crude and condensate production in July exceeded 1 MMbopd for the first time.

“In July 2015 the Sultanate broke a new record,” the Oil and Gas Ministry said in a monthly report published on its website. Production rose 0.5% from June because of efficiency achieved through maintenance work. Daily crude output was 894,000 bbl and condensate accounted for 107,000 bbl, it said.

Exports dropped 13% from a month earlier to 797,000 bopd as local refiner Orpic increased its intake of crude, according to the report. All shipments were to Asia, with China and Japan keeping first and second place among Oman’s customers, accounting for about 69% and 15% of sales respectively. The rest was sold to Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand.

Oman started reversing an oil output decline in 2008 by making new discoveries and using technology to improve recovery of oil from aging fields, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Production rose from 710,000 bopd in 2007 to 960,000 bopd in 2014, according to the International Energy Agency.