Qatar Petroleum signs deal for Block 52 in offshore Oman

Qatar Petroleum has entered into an agreement to acquire a 30% participating interest in the contractor’s interest under the exploration and production sharing agreement (EPSA) for Block 52 offshore, Sultanate of Oman.

The parties under the EPSA are the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and the contractor, which - upon satisfaction of all Omani Governmental approvals - will comprise of Qatar Petroleum with a participating interest of 30%, Eni with a participating interest of 55%, and Oman Oil Company with a participating interest of 15%.Block 52, which is largely underexplored, has an area of more than 90,000 km2 (square kilometres) and is located in water depths ranging from 10 metres to over 2,000 metres. “The contractor parties will soon embark upon executing an exploration programme involving the acquisition and processing of 3D seismic, which will be followed by exploration drilling. Eni is the designated Operator of the block, through its subsidiary Eni Oman B.V,” Qatar Petroleum said.The agreement was signed on Tuesday by Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, in a ceremony held at the Ministry of Oil and Gas in Muscat in the presence of Dr. Mohamed bin Hamad al-Rumhi, Oman’s Minister of Oil and Gas, Isam Zadjali, CEO, Oman Oil Company and Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni.On the occasion, al-Kaabi said: “I would like to thank the Sultanate of Oman, the Ministry of Oil and Gas of the Sultanate of Oman and Oman Oil Company for their trust and support. We are proud to have this opportunity to participate in the exploration and development of the oil and gas resources in the Sultanate of Oman. This agreement represents a stepping-stone towards further mutually rewarding opportunities, where we hope that our cooperation will bring benefits to all involved especially to the Omani oil and gas sector and the people of Oman.“We are very pleased to enter into this agreement with our valued partner Eni, with whom we enjoy a close business relationship, which we aspire to strengthen further. I would like to thank the executives of Eni, Oman Oil and Qatar Petroleum and their respective teams who contributed to this important milestone,” al-Kaabi concluded.