EOG Resources has signed an Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA) with the government of the Sultanate of Oman to explore for hydrocarbons in Block 36 in the southwest of the country.
The Block covers an area of 18,556 sq km extending across the Rub Al Khali basin in the far southwest of the Sultanate. EOG Resources plans to drill at least two exploration wells by mid-2022 as part of its commitment during the initial three-year phase of the license.
Block 36 was previously awarded to APEX (Allied Petroleum Exploration) in 2011. In September 2013, APEX concluded a farm-out agreement with the Norwegian company, DNO International. According to the APEX web site, the first exploration well under the farm-out, Hayah-1, was drilled by DNO in May 2016 as a stratigraphic test in the previously undrilled western portion of the Block, reaching a total depth of 3010m. DNO subsequently decided to withdraw, having invested more than $US 30 million in exploration costs, returning 100% of the Block to APEX, effective in early 2017.
Following the withdrawal of DNO, APEX undertook an unsuccessful non-brokered farm-out process to identify a partner to join in the next stage of exploration of Block 36.
