Swedish firm to develop block 49
Apart from block 49, the Ministry of Oil and Gas will sign similar exploration and production sharing agreements with three other companies for developing other blocks.
MUSCAT: Tethys Oil, a Swedish oil firm, said the company will be issued an exploration licence to develop an onshore block (49) in the south-west of Oman.
An exploration and production sharing agreement between the Ministry of Oil and Gas and Tethys Oil for an initial period of three years will be signed on November 14, according to a press release.
Apart from block 49, the Ministry of Oil and Gas will sign similar exploration and production sharing agreements with other companies for developing three other blocks - 30, 31 and 52, the ministry reported.
“Block 49 is an onshore block that covers a prospective, but still rather unexplored area in the South West of the Sultanate, bordering Saudi Arabia,” added the release.
Tethys Oil will, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Tethys Oil Montasar Ltd, be the operator of the block and hold 100 per cent of the licence interest.
Block 49 covers an area of 15,439 square kilometres. More than 11,000 kilometres of 2D seismic data that has been acquired by previous operators has been made available to Tethys Oil.
“Nine wells have been drilled within the block boundaries, several of which are reported to have encountered oil shows,” according to the press release from Tethys Oil.
The agreement for Block 49 covers an initial exploration period of three years, with an optional extension period of another three years.
Commercial licence
In case of a commercial oil or gas discovery, the agreement will be transformed into a 15 year production licence, which can be extended for another five years. In case of a commercial discovery, Oman Government Company has a right to acquire up to a 30 per cent interest in Block 49 against refunding of past expenditures. The initial work commitments during the first period include geological studies, seismic acquisitions and processing and exploratory drilling.