Under the auspices of HE Dr Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhy, Minister of Oil and Gas, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) in collaboration with Schlumberger Oman & Co. LLC celebrated the inauguration of the Oman Assembly, Repair and Testing (ART) Centre in Nizwa Industrial Estate.

Showcasing an investment valued at $26M for the facility and equipment, the Oman ART Centre specialises in producing artificial lift equipment for the oil and gas industry, including electrical submersible pumps (ESPs), gauges and accessories. In addition, the facility will provide maintenance of ESP components, tools and power cables.

The state-of-the-art facility is capable of manufacturing 25 to 60 ESP strings per month at full capacity with each ESP string containing a motor, a protector, an intake and two pump sections.

In-line with the Schlumberger commitment to Omanisation, the facility will employ 20 Omanis, which approaches to 80% of the total employment during the first operational year. This employment percentage of Omanis is expected to increase with the years.

External Affairs and Value Creation Director Abdul-Amir Al Ajmi said, “PDO is always eager to support the implementation of the In-Country Value (ICV) Blueprint Strategy of the oil and gas industry to diversify the Omani economy and guarantee that more of the oil and gas industry abundance is reserved.

“And accordingly, we believe that the Oman ART centre will support PDO’s operations through boosting production, creating more jobs and training opportunities, saving costs, enabling custom-made solutions and adequate lead-time delivery of goods and services, and mainly enhancing performance”.

Ali Al Lawati, Managing Director at Schlumberger Oman, said: “The  Oman ART Centre is the largest  artificial lift facility for Schlumberger within the region . It was built under our global facilities standard to serve Oman and neighboring countries. This new hub for artificial lift operations exemplifies our commitment to ICV, which enables regional efficiency and performance, while increasing local content and alignment with the strategic priorities of Oman and the region.

The facility operationalisation marks a milestone achievement for Oman’s oil and gas In-Country Value (ICV) journey, as it realises one of the 53 industry’s ICV Blueprint opportunities. Petroleum Development Oman currently leads 43 ICV Blueprint opportunities of which 28 have been operationalised.

PDO and Schlumberger Oman & Co. LLC working together as trusted partners was a key enabler to allow this project to be completed. This realised opportunity allows the oil and gas industry to benefit from the local expertise that has been developed by Schlumberger.