Initial interest in the four oil and gas blocks offered recently as part of the 2016 Oman Licensing Round has been very ‘promising’, an official of the Ministry of Oil & Gas has told the Oman Daily Observer newspaper.
Salim bin Nasser al Aufi, undersecretary at the ministry, said the acreage in question, comprising Block 30 (Hafar), Block 31 (Suneinah North), Block 49 (Montasar) and Block 52, has attracted hundreds of queries from prospective investors from over a dozen countries since the round began.
“Based on statistics we have seen so far, the website on which the details have been posted has attracted over 1,000 hits from more than 20 countries worldwide, indicating that there is good interest in these blocks,” Al Aufi said.
The official added that selection of the blocks for the latest licensing round was based on their “hydrocarbon prospectivity”.
“We tried to select a mix of good blocks and less attractive blocks and we are hoping the market will respond accordingly. We have more blocks coming,” he said.
Block 30, a 1,185 sqkm concession straddling the Hajar mountains, is located to the northeast of some of Oman’s largest oilfields. It was relinquished by Norway’s DNO last year.
To the northwest of Block 30 is Block 31, a 8,526 sqkm area, also abandoned by DNO last year.
