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.
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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
I PROFILE
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.
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“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
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