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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

MOL to advance Block 66 exploration

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Conrad Prabhu -


MUSCAT, MARCH 24 -


Hungarian energy firm MOL Group says it plans to press ahead with its exploration efforts targeting its sole concession in the Sultanate, Block 66, located in the mid-west of the country.


MOL Group, which has a 100 per cent interest in the concession, acquired the 4,899 sq km Block in 2013. Following the completion of a major seismic campaign in 2014, the company launched a drilling programme that saw two wells being completed last year. Maisoorah-1, the first well, was water bearing, while Husna-1 was dry, the company stated in a report.


“The work plan for 2017 includes further geological and geophysical works and analysing all potential options going forward,” it added.


Block 66 lies in the close vicinity of a producing oilfield with two discoveries. The hydrocarbon potential of the Block, revealed at the time of the signing of the Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA) in 2013, was estimated at 200 million barrels of oil.


MOL Group’s first concession in Oman was Block 43B (Hawasina) in Dhahirah Governorate — a gas block that was acquired in 2006 but relinquished in 2013 after a drilling programme yielded no commercial discoveries.


Significantly, relations between Oman and the Hungarian-government owned energy group are not limited to upstream hydrocarbon activities in the Sultanate. Oman Oil Company, the Omani government’s energy investment arm, has a seven per cent equity interest in MOL, which is a major integrated oil and gas company headquartered in Budapest with operations in over 33 countries and employs 26,000 people worldwide. The Group also operates 2,000 retail filling stations and four refineries, among other petrochemical assets, across its European-centric footprint.


Last September, Oman’s Oil and Gas Minister Dr Mohammed bin Hamad al Rumhy travelled to Hungary for talks aimed at strengthening and developing bilateral ties, with an emphasis on bolstering cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector. Dr Al Rumhy met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and other top officials. Hungary says it sees the Sultanate as a “bridgehead” for the exploration of potential opportunities in Africa and the Indian sub-continent.


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