Oman Blocks 3&4 yield revenues of over $1bn for Tethys Oil
Published: 03:08 PM,Aug 12,2022 | EDITED : 07:08 PM,Aug 12,2022
Blocks 3&4 – the most prolific of Tethys Oil’s hydrocarbon assets in the Sultanate of Oman – has generated revenues in excess of $1 billion for the Swedish energy firm since 2011, when the blocks began commercial-scale production.
Stockholm-headquartered Tethys Oil has a 30 per cent interest in the adjoining Blocks 3&4. The acreage is operated by CC Energy Development (with a 50 per cent interest), while Mitsui E&P Middle East is a 20 per cent equity partner.
According to Tethys Oil Managing Director Magnus Nordin, Blocks 3&4 have yielded more than 120 million barrels of oil since 2011 (net entitlement as share of production), while providing the company with more than $1 billion worth of revenue.
Production in Q2 2022 averaged 10,068 barrels of oil per day (net entitlement as share of production), said Nordin, noting in a letter to shareholders on the company’s Q2 performance that output from the blocks is projected to be higher in the second half of this year.
“We now believe production for the second half of 2022 will come in close to what we have seen so far this year meaning an average for the year of around 10,200 barrels per day. And with the oil price hovering above $100 per barrel those ten thousand barrels per day means solid cash flows for us to invest in further growth and to enable continued distribution to shareholders,” the Managing Director stated.
Significantly, Tethys Oil is also making headway in unlocking the hydrocarbon potential of its sizable portfolio of assets in the country, he said. Much of the company’s current focus is on Block 56, a 5,808 sq kilometre concession located in the southeast of the Sultanate of Oman. Of particular promise is the Al Jumd discovery, which has been the target of a number of exploration wells.
Explaining the “excitement unfolding” in Block 56, Nordin said: “The Block has now been operated by Tethys for just over a year and during that time, we have drilled five wells and acquired 2,000 km2 of high density, state of the art 3D seismic. We expect first oil from the long-term production test on Al Jumd in September. In the ‘Central Area’ of the Block, where we shot the seismic, we are targeting close to 50 million barrels of gross unrisked prospective resources that we expect to begin drilling in 2023. By all accounts I think it is fair to say we have been off to a flying start on Block 56.”
Block 56, according to Tethys Oil, remains a “smorgasbord of opportunity”. Exploration activities within the block are set to be ramped up continually during the coming months and quarters. The big prize is the Central Area where the seismic acquired during the first quarter this year is now undergoing processing before interpretation will commence in earnest during the latter part of the fourth quarter, the Managing Director said.
With regard to Block 49, a pure exploration play acquired in late 2017, Tethys Oil has been granted an 18-month extension of the initial exploration phase, which will now last until December 2023. Covering a 15,439 sq kilometre area in the far west of Dhofar Governorate, the under-explored, yet promising, licence is home to Dauka-1 – the first well drilled in Oman in 1955.
Tethys Oil also owns and operates Block 58 located just south of Block 49. The concession is being prepped for a drilling programme planned in 2023.
Stockholm-headquartered Tethys Oil has a 30 per cent interest in the adjoining Blocks 3&4. The acreage is operated by CC Energy Development (with a 50 per cent interest), while Mitsui E&P Middle East is a 20 per cent equity partner.
According to Tethys Oil Managing Director Magnus Nordin, Blocks 3&4 have yielded more than 120 million barrels of oil since 2011 (net entitlement as share of production), while providing the company with more than $1 billion worth of revenue.
Production in Q2 2022 averaged 10,068 barrels of oil per day (net entitlement as share of production), said Nordin, noting in a letter to shareholders on the company’s Q2 performance that output from the blocks is projected to be higher in the second half of this year.
“We now believe production for the second half of 2022 will come in close to what we have seen so far this year meaning an average for the year of around 10,200 barrels per day. And with the oil price hovering above $100 per barrel those ten thousand barrels per day means solid cash flows for us to invest in further growth and to enable continued distribution to shareholders,” the Managing Director stated.
Significantly, Tethys Oil is also making headway in unlocking the hydrocarbon potential of its sizable portfolio of assets in the country, he said. Much of the company’s current focus is on Block 56, a 5,808 sq kilometre concession located in the southeast of the Sultanate of Oman. Of particular promise is the Al Jumd discovery, which has been the target of a number of exploration wells.
Explaining the “excitement unfolding” in Block 56, Nordin said: “The Block has now been operated by Tethys for just over a year and during that time, we have drilled five wells and acquired 2,000 km2 of high density, state of the art 3D seismic. We expect first oil from the long-term production test on Al Jumd in September. In the ‘Central Area’ of the Block, where we shot the seismic, we are targeting close to 50 million barrels of gross unrisked prospective resources that we expect to begin drilling in 2023. By all accounts I think it is fair to say we have been off to a flying start on Block 56.”
Block 56, according to Tethys Oil, remains a “smorgasbord of opportunity”. Exploration activities within the block are set to be ramped up continually during the coming months and quarters. The big prize is the Central Area where the seismic acquired during the first quarter this year is now undergoing processing before interpretation will commence in earnest during the latter part of the fourth quarter, the Managing Director said.
With regard to Block 49, a pure exploration play acquired in late 2017, Tethys Oil has been granted an 18-month extension of the initial exploration phase, which will now last until December 2023. Covering a 15,439 sq kilometre area in the far west of Dhofar Governorate, the under-explored, yet promising, licence is home to Dauka-1 – the first well drilled in Oman in 1955.
Tethys Oil also owns and operates Block 58 located just south of Block 49. The concession is being prepped for a drilling programme planned in 2023.