A COMPARISON OF OIL PRODUCION CAPACITIES IN OMAN AND MEXICO
Oil in Oman was not discovered in commercial quantities until 1962-decades after most of its neighbors. Unlike other Arab oil producing countries, Oman's oil fields are generally smaller, more widely scattered, less productive, and more costly. Moreover, Oman is not a member of OPEC or OAPEC, belonging instead to IPEC (independent petroleum exporter's)("Oman" 1997).
The nation has proven oil reserves of 5.1 billion barrels located in the main fields in the northern and central regions. The primary producing fields are the Yibal, Natih, Fahud, al-Huwaisah, Lekhwair, and Shibkah fields combined contain an estimated 1.8 billion barrels of reserves ("Oman" 1997).
At current production rates, Oman is projected to exhaust its oil reserves by around 2010 (Kaplow, 1998). But there have been successful exploration programs over the past several years resulting in annual reserve increases that have offset production depletions (Gribben, 1998).
About 500 million barrels of new reserves were discovered in 1994. Some of these "newly" discovered reserves were found previously but they were considered uneconomical to develop. Horizontal drilling and other enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques have made production of these reserves more economical in many cases ("PDO", 1999.
Oman's oil industry aims to increase domestic production. In late 1994, plans to spend $4 billion in oil exploration and development through 1999 were announced. Roughly 18 per cent of this amount is targeted for exploration, 44 per cent for the development and installation of production facilities, and the remaining 38 per cent for operating expenses.
In 1996, total oil production reached around 893,000 barrels per day (bbl/d), up from about 861,000 bbl/d for 1995. For the first 10 months of 1997, oil production leveled off at 894,000 bbl/d (Oman, 1997).
Mexico's proven oil reserves were es...