(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) The Ministry of Oil and Gas signed two exploration and production sharing agreements for blocks 41 and 55 on Thursday.
The ministry signed the first agreement with Total Exploration and Production Oman Petroleum BV for offshore Block 41, spread over an area of 23,850 sq km on the northern coast of Oman, while the second agreement was signed with Petrogas Kahil LLC for Block 55, that occupies an area of 7,564 sq km in the Al Wusta governorate.
The agreements were signed by H E Dr Mohammed al Rumhi, Minister of Oil and Gas; Arnaud Breuillac, president, Middle East at Total Exploration and Production; and, Usama Mohammed Ali al Barwani, director of Petrogas Kahil LLC.
The two companies will conduct geological and geophysical studies upon which exploration wells will be proposed for drilling. The exploration programme for Block 41 is expected to begin with seabed coring in 2014.
''Block 41 fits very well with our new strategy as it is also a deep-water project. We are honoured and delighted to have been selected by the Oman government and look forward to evaluating the potential of this block. This acquisition is aligned with the group's exploration strategy focused on frontier basins,'' said Breuillac.
Total is one of the largest integrated oil and gas companies in the world, with activities in more than 130 countries.
In Oman, Total's production in 2012 was 37,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The group produces oil primarily on Block 6 (four per cent) as well as on Block 53 (two per cent). It also produces liquefied natural gas through its stake in the Oman LNG (5.54 per cent)/Qalhat LNG (2.04 per cent) liquefaction plant, which has a capacity of 10.5mn tonnes per year.
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