Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is the leading exploration and production company in the Sultanate of Oman. The Company delivers the majority of the country's crude oil production and natural gas supply. The Company is owned by the Government of Oman (with a 60% interest), Royal Dutch Shell (34%), Total (4%) and Partex (2%). The first economic oil find was made in 1962, and the first oil consignment was exported in 1967.
Abstract The Nimr Cluster, located in South of the Sultanate of Oman within Block 6 and operated by Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), represents the largest and one of the most complex oil-producing assets in the country. The cluster comprises 23 interconnected fields and more than 3,000 drilled wells, many of which are in advanced stages of maturity. Aging infrastructure, increasing water cut, and declining reservoir pressure have led to a growing dependency on well intervention activities to sustain production and manage integrity. In Nimr cluster, over 1200 hoist interventions are executed every year. Consequently, efficient planning and deployment of hoist units have become critical to minimizing deferment and reducing restoration cycle time (RCT), which is defined as the duration from when a well is identified as requiring intervention to the moment it is returned to production. Historically, hoist planning in the Nimr Cluster was conducted using spreadsheet-based tools and manual data compilation. This approach was time-consuming, prone to human error, and limited in its ability to account for dynamic operational constraints. The fragmented nature of data sources, frequent manual updates, and subjective prioritization often resulted in suboptimal resource utilization, extended idle time, and delayed well restoration. This paper presents the development and field implementation of the Hoist Sequence Optimizer (HSO), a digital decision-support system designed to automate job prioritization, optimize hoist deployment, and enhance workflow transparency. The system integrates operational, production, integrity, and logistical parameters into a structured ranking and sequencing methodology. It generates dynamic intervention schedules to support daily and weekly planning decisions. Following deployment, planning time was reduced by approximately 90%, idle time of hoist units decreased, and compliance with intervention planning targets improved significantly. Implementation of the HSO also contributed to an estimated 20% reduction in restoration cycle time through improved visibility and strategic sequencing. Furthermore, the system enhanced collaboration between subsurface, operations, and planning teams. The results demonstrate that locally developed, end-user-driven digital solutions can deliver substantial operational improvements when aligned with field realities. The HSO provides a scalable and transferable framework for modernizing well intervention planning in mature-field environments without reliance on vendor-driven platforms.
Abstract This project addresses a fundamental systemic weakness in Operational Risk Management (ORM) within hydrocarbon operations: the disconnect between defined mitigation controls derived from formal Hazard Identification (HAZID) and their verifiable, timely execution by frontline field personnel. Historically, risk management has suffered from a "control execution gap" where theoretical safety measures remain siloed in desktop-based databases, away from the active work environment. The primary objective of this study is to transition the industry from a passive, document-centric compliance model to an active, digitally assured control execution workflow. The scope of this implementation encompasses all technical integrity mitigation actions generated by the central risk assessment platform which is used to manage SCEs deviations in PDO (Asset Pulse Platform). By leveraging the Mobile Mitigation Management System (M-MMS), the project ensures that the entire lifecycle of a mitigation from generation to final verification is managed entirely through a mobile environment at the point of work. The methodology involves automated ingestion of risk data, the generation of location-aware digital task packages, and real-time routing to ruggedized tablets assigned to field operators. Implementation results demonstrate three critical performance improvements: enforced control visibility for management, a significant reduction in the average time-to-completion for urgent tasks, and the establishment of a robust, immutable auditable trail. Ultimately, the M-MMS successfully transitions risk mitigation from a passive administrative overhead to an active, mandatory, and verifiable component of daily operational duties.
Abstract Digital transformation is critical to improving the reliability, availability, and operational efficiency of industrial electrical systems. This paper presents the implementation and operational experience of the Protection Relay Engineering Workstation (PREW) within Petroleum Development Oman's (PDO) electrical network. PREW enables secure remote communication, monitoring, and analysis of protection relays, significantly reducing fault response time, system downtime, and operational costs. Integrated into PDO's secure Process Control Domain (PCD), PREW adheres to modern cybersecurity standards and provides real-time access to protection relay data across geographically dispersed assets. Protection engineers can remotely analyze faults, retrieve disturbance records, and assess system conditions without physical site visits. A reference event demonstrates that PREW avoided a 1000 km round-trip travel and accelerated restoration by approximately 24 hours. The phased deployment over three years now covers approximately 50% of the network and has been incorporated into PDO's standard design and operational philosophy for new projects.
Abstract This paper presents a data-driven optimization initiative conducted in a critical sour gas plant aimed at unlocking hidden gas injection capacity without major capital expenditure. Through systematic data analysis, operational constraint identification, and process optimization, the study demonstrates how existing facilities can achieve improved performance while maintaining safety and operational integrity. The results show measurable increases in injection capacity and improved operational stability, providing a replicable methodology for similar assets facing capacity limitations.
Abstract Tyre-related failures are a significant yet often under-recognized contributor to serious road traffic crashes, particularly in high-temperature and mixed-terrain operating environments. Data from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTS indicate more than 11,000 crashes and 600 fatalities annually are linked to tyre defects (NHTSA, 2010). In the Sultanate of Oman, where ambient temperatures exceed 45°C in some areas and operations span highways and graded desert roads, tyre degradation and blowout risks are significantly amplified. Within Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), operating a fleet of over 10,000 vehicles, several tyre-related incidents, including fatalities, highlighted gaps in specification standardization and inspection practices. In response, PDO developed and implemented a comprehensive Tyre Standard and Specification Framework aligned with international benchmarks (UNECE, ETRTO, and GSO). The framework defined tyre requirements by vehicle type and operating terrain, mandated pre-use and periodic inspections, and required Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) for real-time inflation monitoring. Supporting standard operating procedures included mandatory checks before dispatch and random periodic assurance audits to ensure and enforce compliance. Implementation of the Tyre standard and specification framework has yielded a positive tangible outcome, between 2022 and 2025 within PDO operations tyre-related incidents were reduced by 65%, with over 250 early interventions preventing potential failures. This paper demonstrates a practical, risk-based approach to strengthening fleet road safety in extreme operating environments.
