SLB Wins OQEP Contract to Lift Bisat-B Capacity to 548,000 Bpd

SLB has been awarded a contract by OQ Exploration & Production (OQEP) to deliver the Bisat-B Expansion Production Facility in Oman, SLB announced on September 23, 2026. Under the contract, SLB will provide design, engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning services for the facility, along with four years of operations and maintenance support. The expansion will increase the facility’s gross fluids handling capacity to 548,000 barrels per day, and the project is scheduled for completion within 19 months.

SLB said it will provide integrated project delivery from engineering through commissioning, followed by the four-year operations and maintenance term, to support the continued development and operational performance of the Bisat Field. The company characterized the award as supporting the next phase of Bisat Field development and OQEP’s production growth objectives.

The contract marks the next phase of development for the Bisat Field and follows SLB’s delivery of the Bisat-A facility in 2018 and the original Bisat-B facility in 2020. SLB described the new award as strengthening a long-standing partnership and building on the established working relationship between the two companies.

“We are pleased to continue supporting OQEP in the development of production infrastructure for the Bisat Field,” said Jesus Lamas, president, Middle East and North Africa, SLB. “By combining our global expertise with decades of local experience in Oman, we will help support production growth while delivering safe, efficient and reliable performance for years to come.”

Bisat-C Expansion Reached First Crude in June 2025

The Bisat Field sits within OQEP’s flagship Block 60 license, where the previous expansion phase at the field, Bisat-C, was commissioned in 2025, according to OQEP’s commissioning announcement. Crude oil began officially flowing to the Bisat-C Expansion Facilities on June 16, 2025, after a contract award on January 10, 2024, and a groundbreaking in March 2024, putting first crude oil at less than 18 months from award. OQEP said the project was delivered ahead of schedule. Enerflex served as the main contractor on Bisat-C, with Omani companies Majees Technical Services and Special Technical Services as subcontractors.

OQEP said the Bisat-C facility was designed to handle additional gross fluids capacity of 447,000 barrels per day, with an oil train processing capacity of 37,000 barrels per day and produced water treatment capacity of 410,000 barrels per day, taking Bisat-C’s total oil processing capacity to 67,000 barrels per day.

The company reported that the Bisat-C site workforce peaked at 1,200 personnel between February and June 2025, with 3 million safe man-hours completed without a Lost Time Injury and 2 million kilometres driven without a Road Traffic Accident. It reported total local spend of 24.6 million Omani rials on the project, directed to small and medium enterprises, Made in Oman goods, and local goods and services suppliers, and said 23 Omani fresh graduates were trained and recruited.

Construction details disclosed by OQEP for Bisat-C include 486 piles, each 12 metres deep, installed to support the facility’s tanks. The largest is the produced water tank, with a capacity of 27,784 cubic meters, approximately 174,700 barrels, measuring 48.7 meters in diameter and 14.8 meters in height. Other processing units include a gas flotation tank measuring 15 meters in height and diameter, and a gross inlet separator spanning 27.5 meters in length and 4.6 meters in diameter and weighing 145 metric tons. The facility also includes a heater treater and desalter package with a daily capacity of 40,400 barrels, a containerized substation building, and water injection pumps flowing 1,130 cubic meters per hour at 90 Barg and powered by a 4 MW system to support reservoir management.

OQEP Listed on the Muscat Stock Exchange in 2024

OQEP’s shares began trading on the Muscat Stock Exchange on October 28, 2024, following an initial public offering of 25% of the company’s share capital, according to OQEP’s listing announcement. Two billion shares were offered to the public at 390 baizas each, with total proceeds of approximately 780 million Omani rials, and the offering was oversubscribed by 2.7 times. With a market capitalization of more than 3 billion Omani rials, OQEP became the largest company listed on the MSX and the first exploration and production company to hold that position. Haitham Salim Al Salmi, chief executive of the Muscat Stock Exchange, said at the listing that OQEP accounts for 11.3% of the total market value of companies listed on the exchange.

OQEP chief executive Ahmed Said Al Azkawi described the listing as marking an important phase in the company’s growth since its founding in 2009 as a government investment arm for exploration and production. Ashraf Hamed Al Mamari, group chief executive of OQ, said OQEP became the third OQ Group entity to go public, following Abraj Energy Services and OQ Gas Networks, in alignment with the Oman Investment Authority’s strategy to divest certain government assets.