MUSCAT: Oman Oil Company Exploration and Production (OOCEP) and Shell Exploration have signed a Heads of Agreement (HoA) to collaborate on Oman Block 42.
Under the agreement, an initial aerial study will be carried out, before potentially undertaking further and more focused activities in the block, according to a press release.
This cooperation in Block 42 is the first such project between OOCEP and Shell in Oman. The two companies are already partners in the Pearls joint venture in Kazakhstan. Block 42 comprises an area of about 25,600 square kilometres, which could hold hydrocarbon potential in several geological plays.
The agreement was signed for OOCEP by Isam bin Saud Al Zadjali, chief executive officer at Oman Oil Company, and for Shell by Chris Breeze, Shell’s country chairman in Oman.
“We are pleased to join up with Shell to further assess the exploration potential of Block 42. I see the signing of today’s HoA as creating an important platform with a world-renowned international upstream company like Shell. OOCEP has been very successful in its exploration programmes and I trust this success will continue,” Al Zadjali said.
“We are excited by the prospect of Block 42 and are pleased to sign this HoA with OOCEP. We are partners in Kazakhstan and this is a first cooperation of its type between Shell and OOCEP in Oman. Shell is proud of its long-term partnership with Oman and I hope this heralds extensive collaboration with OOCEP, both in Block 42 and beyond. Shell is committed to helping Oman meet its growing energy demand in economically, environmentally and socially responsible ways,” added Breeze.
