Page 12 - MEOG Week 50 2021

MEOG PROJECTS & COMPANIES MEOG

Oman’s PDO-S to carry out

seismic work for Tethys

OMAN THE services arm of Petroleum Development Dawood Al Qassabi, said that the contract sign-
Oman (PDO) this week signed its first commer- ing was “an invitation to other oil and gas oper-
cial contract, to carry out an onshore seismic ators in Oman and beyond to tap into PDO’s
survey in Block 56 for Swedish operator Tethys decades of experience in geosolutions, EOR,
Oil. learning and development, project management,
The contract is valued at $14mn and will ICV, technology and others”.
see PDO-S run a 2,018-square km 3D seismic The announcement comes just a few days
acquisition programme with Tethys to carry out after PDO’s geomatics survey operations com-
an exploration campaign by the end of 2023 fol- pleted 40 years without a lost time injury (LTI).
lowing an extension to the exploration and pro- The 5,808-square km Block 56 concession
duction-sharing agreement (EPSA). in south-eastern Oman lies around 200 km
Following the contract signing, PDO man- south of Blocks 3 and 4, in which Tethys holds
aging director Steve Phimister said: “Signing a stake of 30%. The firm noted that testing at
this contract with Tethys Oil Oman Onshore is previously drilled wells confirmed the presence
a great milestone for PDO-S [to have] achieved of an active petroleum system containing 20-25
in a relatively short time after its establishment. degrees API medium viscosity crude, although
It is a true demonstration of how PDO-S is deliv- it added that “the commercial viability is yet to
ering its key value drivers by filling supply chain be determined”.
gaps in the oil and gas market in Oman.” Tethys became the operator of Block 56 in
Meanwhile, his Tethys Oil counterpart, Dr October 2020 when it acquired an additional
Fredrik Robelius, said that PDO-S’s “state-of- 45% in the EPSA from Indonesia’s Medco Energi
the-art technology [would] help […] unlock the for $5mn.
great potential in Block 56.” The Indonesian company retains a share of
In a video to promote its services, the 5%, though Tethys agreed to carry $2mn of Med-
new company said that by “leveraging PDO’s co’s future expenditure in the block. Tethys has
strengths and competitive edge, [it delivers] held an interest in Block 56 since late 2019, when
a wide range of customised services safely, on it acquired a 20% stake from Biyaq Oil Field Ser-
time and on budget”, though given that it just vices $9.5mn.
launched, these refer to aims rather than a track The EPSA shareholder structure comprises
record. Tethys (65%, operator), Biyaq (25%), Intaj LLC
PDO’s head of new business development, (5%) and Medco (5%).™

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 50 15•December•2021