The Ministry of Energy and Minerals, on behalf of the Government of the Sultanate of Oman, has signed a concession agreement for Offshore Block (18), as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance exploration and production activities and expand the hydrocarbon resource base in the Sultanate of Oman.
The agreement was signed on behalf of the Government of Oman by Eng. Salim Nasser Al Aufi, Minister of Energy and Minerals. It was signed on behalf of OQ Exploration and Production by Mahmoud Abdullah Al Hashmi, Acting CEO of OQ Exploration and Production. On behalf of PC Oman Ventures Limited, a subsidiary of Malaysia’s PETRONAS, the agreement was signed by Muhammad Redhani Abdul Rahman, Vice President of International Assets at PETRONAS, in its capacity as the operator of the concession area.
Under the terms of the agreement, PETRONAS will assume operatorship with a 70% participating interest, while OQ Exploration and Production will hold the remaining 30% stake in the concession rights. The agreement includes an initial exploration period of four years, which may be extended, with the possibility of declaring commerciality and granting a production concession for a period of up to thirty years.
Offshore Block (18) is located in the Sea of Oman and covers an area exceeding 21,000 square kilometers. It is considered one of the offshore areas with diverse geological potential, despite the technical challenges associated with exploration and drilling in deep waters, as no confirmed discoveries have previously been made in the block.
The investing companies are expected to implement a comprehensive work program that includes conducting geophysical surveys and technical studies, in addition to drilling exploratory wells to assess the hydrocarbon potential of the area, thereby contributing to strengthening the Sultanate of Oman’s position on the regional and global energy map.
