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CC ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

EXPERT ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN OMAN Powered by Inside Oil & Gas

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CC ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

I PROFILE

Since it was first established in 2007, international oil and gas operator CC Energy Development has added value to its home-base of Oman. Managing Director Walter Simpson explained how the company has been achieving this, during an exclusive interview with Inside Oil & Gas.

32 Inside oil & gas

L

ocated in Blocks 3 & 4, Oman, CC

CCED currently draws from three reservoirs

Energy Development (CCED) is a

on its 28,000sqkm of land, the youngest of

fast-growing independent oil & gas

which, Barik, dates all the way back to the

company that is dedicated to the discovery of oil and gas.

Cambrian era.

“The previous operators of Blocks 3 & 4

“We started production in 2010,” said

had made no discoveries under its opera-

Managing Director Walter Simpson. “From

tion; however, during our initial exploration

there we rapidly achieved organic growth to

programme, we found hydrocarbons in a

the peak of our production in 2019, at which

number of horizons,” Mr Simpson explained.

point, we were generating 45,000 barrels

“We discovered Barik, a Cambrian reservoir,

per day.”

and two more, Khufai and Buah, which are Precambrian.

“It’s highly unusual to have significant production from reservoirs that old because it’s very challenging geology, but we were successful and have continued to extract and explore ever since.”

Managing Director Walter Simpson

Inside oil & gas 33

DUG DUG is a proud technology partner with CCED, providing high-end seismic data processing and imaging services for their groundbreaking projects in Oman. Working closely with CCED, DUG has significantly improved the quality and resolution of legacy data enabling the evaluation of new plays and refining the understanding of existing fields.

DUG’s service offering includes advanced full waveform inversion - part of its Insight software - and green, high performance computing capabilities. DUG’s technology will be deployed as part of a five-year program to reprocess CCED’s entire legacy 3D data library, in addition to two new high-density land programs currently being acquired.

editorial mention

34 Inside oil & gas

NODES Breaking seismic records with autonomous nodes CC Energy Development is currently deploying an unprecedented 165,000 STRYDE Nodes™ in Oman, marking the world's largest onshore nodal seismic survey ever conducted. Covering 29,219 sq.km, this cutting-edge 3D survey relies on fully autonomous, compact single-sensor nodes.

This approach offers numerous advantages for CCED, including cost savings, reduced HSE risk exposure (with fewer manual tasks, a vehicle count, and a field crew size reduction), as well as increased access to challenging terrains that older generation acquisition systems couldn't reach.This resulted in the safer acquisition of highquality, high-density point receiver geometries allowing superior subsurface image resolution.

editorial mention

36 Inside oil & gas

CC ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

I PROFILE

Adding value to Oman

The company also offers graduate

Despite having a strong international

support programmes and has a vendor

presence, CCED remains loyal to its roots.

development scheme in place that aids

With 92% of its employees being Omani

the growth of small companies based in

citizens, the company firmly believes in

Oman. Also, conscious that an effect on

adding value back into the community.

the environment can have an impact on

“We’ve done a really good job at making

citizens, CCED has implemented several

sure we have a breadth of skills across the

initiatives for change. One such initiative

entire workforce from Oman,” Mr Simpson

centres around reed beds.

said, “so, I’m really pleased with that. We

“Previously, we were trucking all the grey

also have a very extensive and successful

water from our camps to a municipal facility

CSR programme, and we work regularly with

in a larger town,” Mr Simpson explained.

a number of entities within Oman that focus

“Not only were we using diesel-powered

on enhancing health, education and local

trucks, but we were also using a facility for

communities. We do this because we really

our waste which was geared up for local

strive to be a long-term value contributor to

community needs. So initially, we asked our

our area and, to-date, we have contributed

staff for ideas on how to improve this situa-

around $3 billion to the economy and intend

tion, and they came up with the brilliant idea

to increase that figure indefinitely.”

of creating mobile reed beds for our mobile

38 Inside oil & gas

camps. We were already using fixed reed

A lot of our reservoirs are operated using

beds to process the wastewater at our per-

artificial lift which requires electricity.

manent locations, but the changeability of

Currently, we use local diesel generator

our mobile camps meant that up until this

sets. However, working diligently with our

point, we were unable to use the solution at

partner Aggreko, we are implementing the

these facilities.”

The Gas-to-Power project Further improvement to the company’s environmental impact will come in the form of the company’s Gas-to-Power project.

With a goal to be free of operational flaring by 2027, in collaboration with Aggreko CCED has come up with a brilliant plan to reuse its gas emissions.

“We have agreed to Oman’s target of zero flaring by 2030,” Mr Simpson said. “The key part of that commitment is managing the associated gas production that we create.

Inside oil & gas 39

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CC ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

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Gas-to-Power project which will use our

Exploration is underway

gas emissions to power these ESPs.”

2023 has been a year of material investment

The Gas-to-Power project is already well

for CCED in Oman. Not only is it implementing

underway and is expected to be up-and-

a vast array of innovative and sustainable

running by the end of 2023. CCED is also

projects, but also it continues its operational

looking into treating its generated water

activities, including acquiring the largest,

which is hypersaline.

nodal based onshore 3D program in the world.

“We produce around 60,000 barrels of

With the acquisition by African

water each day,” Mr Simpson said. “This

Geophysical Services (AGS) utilising STRYDE

water is incredibly salty, with around

nodal technology, CCED has successfully

220,000 ppm of chloride, which is too

acquired 6,000 sqkm so far, and it expects

much to desalinate via conventional

to double that figure over the coming year.

methods. So we are currently assessing

The processing is being undertaken by DUG

newer technology that would be used in

Technology, using a unified Earth model

conjunction with our Gas-to-Power project.

approach and innovative technologies

“If successful, we can use the water for

such as full waveform inversion. DUG oper-

greening surrounding areas. Oman aims to

ates a network of some of the largest and

plant 10 million trees, and we would love

greenest high-performance computers

to partake in that project.”

(HPCs) on Earth.

By maintaining a focus on more sustain-

So far, CCED has successfully shot 6,000

able initiatives, the company intends to

sqkm, and it expects to double that figure

successfully halve its greenhouse gas

over the coming months.

emissions and hopes to reach net zero by 2050.

42 Inside oil & gas

“This shoot is taking place in the remaining unexplored area of our blocks,”

Mr Simpson explained. “We are also

tant culture of safety. We are committed

reprocessing a large area of high-quality

to our safety rules, we have trust in our

seismic data, and by the end of 2025 we

colleagues to maintain those rules, and

will have around 18,000 square kilometres

we want them to trust us when we say

of extremely high-quality data from the

we will enforce them. We also have zero

subsurface of the Blocks.”

tolerance for unsafe behaviour and

CCED is keen to continue its exploration

always empower our staff to have the

programme and, thanks to its nimbleness,

confidence to speak out if they witness

will be able to rapidly transition from

any unsafe practices.”

discovery to production on any reservoirs

As it focuses on the future, CCED is keen

it uncovers. Last year, the company suc-

to continue growing organically, whilst

cessfully entered production on a well four

supporting the surrounding communities.

weeks after initial discovery.

This rapid turn-around would not be pos-

“We plan to be here for the long haul,” Mr Simpson concluded. “We have a vision

sible without a strong workforce, and CCED

of being a long-term partner in Oman,

has continuously expanded its employee

whilst continuing to create value for

count and facilities to complement its

the community. We are not a short-term

ever-increasing production rates.

player, and if we can generate value, be

“Ultimately, what makes us special, is

a low-cost operator whilst maintaining a

not our assets,” saidMr Simpson: “it’s the

low environmental impact for the commu-

people. They are incredibly important to us,

nity, and do it effectively, then there will

that’s why we maintain a hugely impor-

always be a place for us.”

n

Inside oil & gas 43