Petroleb to invest $24 million in Block 57

Business Wednesday 10/January/2018 17:57 PM
By: Times News Service
Petroleb to invest $24 million in Block 57

Muscat: Lebanese firm Petroleb on Wednesday signed an exploration and production sharing agreement with the Ministry of Oil and Gas for developing Block 57, which will see an investment of $24 million in the first three years for exploration.
Spread over 2,262 square kilometres in the south of Oman, the oil block will be developed in phases, starting from exploration to production.
“The first phase is solely exploration and is very capital intensive. The exploration budget of the first phase of seismic and drilling activity will be in excess of $24 million, which is for the first three years,” Salah Khayat, chief executive officer of Petroleb, said.
As per the agreement, the company will conduct geological and geophysical studies and 3D seismic surveys and will drill wells during the exploration period. The first phase will see at least one deep well, and other wells will come up in the following phases.
Potential reserves
Khayat remarked it would be premature to put numbers on the potential reserves, but there was a significant amount expected within the area. Petroleb is operating in Oman for the first time, and Khayat noted they will consider the experiences of other companies and look into other blocks too.
“The experiences of other international companies indicated that they were all happy in dealing with the Ministry of Oil and Gas without any problems. The history is encouraging. Secondly, there are other prospects in Oman, and we believe that by operating here, we can participate in these too. Then, of course, we believe in the stability of Oman and are very happy to be here,” he explained.
The agreement was signed in Muscat by Dr Mohammed Al Rumhy, Minister of Oil and Gas, and Salah Al Khayat, CEO of Petroleb SAL.
Block 57 lies between two world-class oil provinces: the South Oman Salt Basin and the Rub Al Khali Basin.