In July 2020 Tethys Oil and the Government of the Sultanate of Oman entered into an Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA) for Block 58 onshore Oman. The block is located in the southern part of the Sultanate adjacent to Tethys Oil’s operated exploration licence Block 49. Tethys Oil is through its wholly owned subsidiary Tethys Oil Qatbeet Limited be the operator of the block and hold a 100% license interest.
Block 58 is located in the Dhofar Governorate in the southern part of Oman and covers an area of 4,557 km2. Block 58 straddles the western flank of the South Oman Salt Basin and the Western Deformation Front. A total of 7,600 km of 2D seismic and 1,100 km2 of 3D seismic data acquired by previous operators has been made available to Tethys Oil as well as raw logs and well reports from two wells drilled within the block boundaries. Both wells encountered hydrocarbon shows. Multiple play concepts are believed to exist within the block boundaries, including plays familiar to Tethys, with several leads identified.
In 2022, Tethys Oil conducted exploration activities on two different parts of the block, Fahd and South Lahan. In the Fahd area, located in the north-eastern corner of the block, prospect maturation was completed in the fourth quarter of 2022 and volumetrics were finalised. The process concluded with the identification of three prospects, holding a combined estimate of unrisked prospective resource potential of 184 mmbo with targets in the Buah, Khufai and Ara formations. Analysis of the finalised prospect inventory will continue in 2023 and based on the findings the location of the first exploration well on the block will be selected for a planned spud in the third quarter.
In South Lahan, the focus has been on the processing and interpretation of the 450 km2 3D seismic acquired in late 2021. The interpretation work in 2022 yielded encouraging results and drillable prospects are expected in the first half of 2023.
The EPSA for Block 58 covers an initial exploration period until July 2024. In case of a commercial oil or gas discovery, the EPSA will be transformed in to a 15-year production license which can be extended for another five years. In case of a commercial discovery, an Oman Government Company has a right to acquire up to a 30% interest in Block 58 against refunding of past expenditure. The initial work commitments during the first period include a 3D seismic campaign and drilling of two exploration wells.