Eni, BP Sign Up For Omani Block
UK major BP and its Italian counterpart Eni have signed an exploration and production-sharing agreement (EPSA) for a gas block in central Oman.
The pair will develop the 2,734-km2 Block 77 through a 50:50 partnership, with Eni serving as operator, the Rome-based firm said on July 31. In a statement on its Twitter feed, Oman’s oil and gas ministry said the deal would involve seismic surveys and the completion of a number of exploration wells.
Eni has been working in Oman since 2017, when it secured rights to Block 52 in the south of the country. It went on to win the offshore Block 47 the following year. Eni said the new deal strengthened its role in the country, “bringing its well-known experience in the exploration of new plays within existing oil & gas provinces.”
BP has been operating for more than a decade in Oman. It is the lead developer of Block 61, an area nearby to Block 77 containing the Khazzan gas field that entered production in 2017. Khazzan is flowing around 1bn ft³/day of gas, and BP intends to bring a second Block 61 field called Ghazeer on stream in 2021, raising output by a further 0.5bn ft³/day.
BP and Eni signed a heads of agreement to explore Block 77 back in January.