The Omani government is planning to award an oil and gas block to an international oil company on production sharing basis before the end of 2015, the Times of Oman has reported.
“We have signed an agreement recently and I expect may be one more before the end of the year,” the newspaper quoted Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Oil and Gas, as saying.
This decision is close on the heels of awarding Block 54 to Oman Lasso Exploration and Production Karwan in September.
Aufi said that the block identified for awarding is Block 7, which is currently in operation in central Oman.
The senior ministry official also mentioned that with oil prices dipping to recent lows, multinational energy firms are either slowing down their investment in new concession areas in the Sultanate or asking for much more favourable terms.
The Omani government has been encouraging multinational oil giants to find new reservoirs in a move to sustain production levels.
As huge investment is required for bringing crude oil and natural gas out of the ground in view of the peculiar nature of reservoirs in the Sultanate, the government has been encouraging multinational firms to undertake exploration on production sharing basis.
Aufi also expects the Sultanate’s average daily crude oil production to touch 980,000 barrels this year, which is in line with the projection early this year. In July, Oman’s daily average production crossed one million barrels for the first time, according to reports.
