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Tethys hits oil at Oman’s Block 49

OMAN SWEDEN’S Tethys Oil this week announced
that it had hit oil with its Thameen-1 well in
Oman’s onshore Block 49 following drilling work
that began in early January.
Commenting on the news, managing direc-
tor Magnus Nordin said: “This is not a discovery
yet, but we are very encouraged by the progress
so far and it is great news for the overall prospec-
tivity of the Block. Now we have to be patient for
another three weeks as we await the test results.”
Thameen-1 is located in the north of Block
49 at Marsudad village. The well encountered
hydrocarbon shows in its primary target, the late
Ordovician Hasirah sandstone layer at a depth of
3,500 metres. At the time of drilling, Tethys said
it would also test mid-Ordovician Saih Nihayda
sandstone at 3,700 metres as well as investigating
the shallower Gharif Sandstone.
Nordin said: “The Thameen-1 well is designed
to penetrate several potentially hydrocarbon
bearing rock layers. We have three defined tar-
gets, but we will analyse all data from the well to
increase our understanding of the potential oil
plays in the block, conventional as well as uncon-
ventional.” Tethys is using the Abraj-204 drill rig
which is on contract from Abraj Energy Services.
The commencement of drilling was only
marginally behind schedule with Nordin having
said in mid-2020 that work would begin before
the end of the year. Tethys is the 50% operator of
the Block 49 exploration and production shar-
ing agreement (EPSA), having farmed-out a
50% stake to US unconventionals specialist EOG
Resources in November. The deal gives EOG the
option to increase its stake to 85% and take over
operations in the Block.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the
resultant oil sector downturn, Tethys ramped up
its efforts in Oman in 2020. In October, it agreed
terms on a deal that will see it acquire an addi-
tional stake of 45% in Block 56 EPSA, making it
the operator. It also announced a deal to buy the
stake from Indonesia’s Medco Energi for $5mn
with Tethys also agreeing to carry $2mn of Med-
co’s future expenditure in the block. The Indone-
sian company retains a share of 5%.™

Week 09 03•March•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P11