International bidding has commenced for three hydrocarbon blocks offered by the Ministry of Energy and Minerals as part of the Oman Licensing Round 2021. The roughly four-month-long competitive process kicked off on August 8, 2021, for two onshore blocks – 38 and 66 – as well as a newly created offshore swathe, dubbed Block 23, located just east of Masirah Island off the Sultanate’s east coast.
“The blocks on offer are all located in the prolific hydrocarbon provinces and were previously held by operators who were obliged to relinquish these blocks due to statutory licence relinquishment requirements, except Block 23 which will be offered for the first time,” said the Ministry in introductory remarks.
Of the three blocks on offer, the newly crafted Block 23 is expected to garner significant interest. Covering an area of 4,898 sq km, this offshore block is located just beyond Block 50 where in 2014 Masirah Oil Limited made the first oil discovery off Oman’s east coast.
Once part of the enormous Dhofar Concession that incorporated the massive Block 52, Block 23 is essentially unexplored, but has been partly covered by 2D seismic. Further, no wells have been drilled to date on the block.
Commenting on the prospectivity of the block, the Ministry noted: “This is an oil block. The prospective interval is the shallow Permo-Triassic section, although deeper and older objectives can’t be excluded. Proven commercial hydrocarbons are encountered in the Block 50 with the discovery of the Yumna Field. Expectations are that the prospective geological trends continue further offshore.”
The largest of the three blocks on offer is Block 38, located in southern Oman. Described as a “pure exploration block”, Block 38 covers 17,425 sq km – an area that has been under-explored.
Also once part of the sprawling Dhofar Concession, Block 38 has been created with portions of Block 6 – the largest producer of hydrocarbons and currently licensed to majority government-owned Petroleum Development Oman (PDO).
Block 38 has had a number of owners, individually or in partnership, over the past years. The list includes: Dhofar Cities Service Petroleum Corp comprised of Cities Service and Richfield Oil Corp; John W Mecom; Petroleum Development Oman; Phillips; Sinopec and Frontier Resources.
According to the Ministry, a total of three wells have been drilled to date in the block. It includes the Alboot-1 drilled by Dhofar Cities Service Petroleum Corp in 1959. It ranks among one of the oldest exploration wells drilled in the Sultanate. None of the three wells discovered commercial hydrocarbons, although shows where present in the drilled sections, it said.
Rounding off the trio of blocks on offer is Block 66, straddling Oman’s border with Saudi Arabia in the central-southern part of the Sultanate. Covering an area of 4,898 sq km, the block is essentially under-explored with only five wells drilled to date, according to the Ministry.
Also once part of the mammoth Dhofar Concession, Block 66 was previously owned, either individually or in partnership, by D’Arcy Exploration; Dhofar Cities Service Petroleum Corp; John W Mecom; Petroleum Development Oman; and MOL Oman.
The deadline for submission of offers is November 30, 2021.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
