SLB has secured an EPCC contract to lift OQ Exploration & Production's Bisat-B facility to a gross fluids handling capacity of 548,000 barrels per day at the Bisat oilfield in Block 60, Abu Butabul, Oman.

Financial terms were not disclosed. The package also covers four years of post-commissioning operations and maintenance support, with construction scheduled to wrap within 19 months.

What does the contract cover?

The scope runs from front-end design and engineering through procurement, construction and commissioning of the expansion. Once SLB hands the facility back, the contractor will carry out operations and maintenance support through a separate four-year window.

The headline 548,000 bpd figure anchors an upgrade that adds processed-water handling and gas conditioning capacity. Both new trains will tie into the existing Bisat-B complex that came online in 2020, and the additional O&M term signals a long-tail service relationship rather than a one-off construction job.

How does Bisat sit in OQEP's portfolio?

Block 60 lies in central Oman, adjacent to the Lekhwair area where OQEP operates alongside neighbouring Petroleum Development Oman concessions. The Bisat field was discovered in 2017 and inaugurated for production in early 2023 after multi-year appraisal and infrastructure work.

SLB's history at the field runs long. The service company delivered Bisat-A in 2018 and the original Bisat-B trains in 2020. The new award marks a third phase of the same partnership and forms part of OQEP's broader field-development strategy for Block 60.

Jesus Lamas, president of SLB for Middle East and North Africa, framed the deal as a continuation of that track record:

"We are pleased to continue supporting OQEP in the development of production infrastructure for the Bisat Field. 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."

How does the Oman fit sit in SLB's 2025 backlog?

The Bisat award lands about a month after SLB signed a multi-year agreement with Equinor covering advanced reservoir stimulation services on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. That deal includes a major upgrade of the well-stimulation vessel MV Island Captain, which Equinor will deploy on tight offshore reservoirs.

The two awards place SLB on parallel tight-reservoir tracks in Oman and Norway. Both align with operators moving into mid-life fields where sustained intervention and infrastructure expansion are the main value drivers.

What could pressure the 19-month schedule?

Long-lead rotating-equipment procurement, hot-weather construction windows, and live tie-ins into the operating Bisat-B complex will shape execution risk. SLB typically does not disclose unit-cost or installed-cost benchmarks for individual EPCC awards, so analysts have to triangulate from prior contract values or OQEP capex disclosures.

Workforce mobilisation, third-party inspection timing, and logistics for heavy modules through Sohar port will also weigh on the schedule.

What to watch

The 19-month commissioning clock matters most. Bisat-B's expanded throughput will set the next capacity ceiling for Block 60 and frame OQEP's production guidance through the back half of the decade.