MUSCAT -- Circle Oil Plc, the international oil and gas exploration, development and production company, has been granted an extension to the exploration period for its onshore Block 49 in south Oman. Under the revised time frame which is now extended to December 26, 2012, Circle will be required to complete additional 2,500-line kilometres of closely spaced 2D seismic survey and drill one exploration well.
The seismic programme is to be acquired in the south-eastern part of the block, north-east of and adjacent to the 3D survey which was completed in 2010. Block 49, covering an area of over 15,438 sq km, lies in a relatively unexplored area of Southern Oman. The concession agreement includes the right of conversion to a production licence of 30 years in the event of commercial discoveries. Circle Oil Oman Ltd is the operator of Block 49 with a 100 per cent working interest.
Circle has also initiated a farm-out process aimed at seeking partners for its Block 52 licence offshore in southern Oman. It follows the completion of the processing of 5,026 line kilometres of marine 2D seismic, recorded from December 2010 to February 2011. "The processed data received to date are of a significantly improved quality over the historic seismic data. Interpretations have confirmed the presence of multiple structures and potential targets for exploration drilling.
"As a result, a farm-out process has recently been initiated using both internal data rooms and an external agency. The farm-out process is aimed at seeking a partner(s) to drill a commitment well in Block 52 within the next 18 months," the Irish-based international firm said in a statement.
Circle's interpretations detailed in the farmout package in Block 52 have identified several promising play types in stratigraphy ranging in age from Pre-Cambrian to Tertiary, but the offshore Outer Sawquirah Area of Late Cretaceous to Palaeogene structural closures is considered the most prospective. The water depths for proposed drilling locations on the nine prospects range from 724 to 956 metres and target depths range from 1,490 to 2,850 metres.
The largest individual prospect, presently designated as Prospect A1, is situated in a water depth of approximately 769 metres, with an internally estimated deterministic most likely STOIIP (stock tank oil in place) of 2,435 million barrels of oil (MMBO) and associated most likely ultimate recoverable resources of 731 MMBO, with depth to top target at 1,490 metres.
Block 52, covering an area of over 63,460 square kilometres, lies in an underexplored area of offshore Southern Oman. The concession agreement includes the right of conversion to a production licence of 30 years in the event of commercial discoveries. Circle Oil Oman Offshore Ltd is the operator of Block 52 with a 100 per cent working interest.
© Oman Daily Observer 2011
