MUSCAT -- Norwegian oil and gas company DNO International says it plans to drill two exploratory wells in Block 36 onshore Oman next year. The move is a further addition to the company's substantial programme of appraisal, development and production activities targeting its sizable portfolio of hydrocarbon assets in the Sultanate.
Block 36 is a roughly 18,000 sq km frontier exploration block located in the prolific Rub Al Khali basin. According to DNO, two of the three exploration wells drilled previously on the block have pointed to the presence of source rock found in a majority of the oil and gas fields discovered elsewhere around the Arabian Peninsula. All three exploration wells had hydrocarbon shows.
"The Company has completed reprocessing of the existing 2D seismic data and continues with interpretation to identify drillable prospects on the block. Acquisition of new 2D seismic data over areas of identified prospectivi=ty will commence in Q3 2014 in preparation for drilling two exploration wells in 2015," the Oslo-listed firm said in a report.
DNO has a 75 per cent participating interest in the Block acquired last year via a farm-in agreement concluded with the previous operator, Allied Petroleum. The Norwegian firm has since assumed operatorship of the block.
But it's the offshore Block 8, with the producing Bukha and West Bukha fields in the north of Oman, that represents the mainstay of DNO's operations in the Sultanate. Daily production from Block 8 averages 13,814 barrels per day (bpd) of oil and 36.2 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd) of marketable gas.
With a view to enhancing output from the block, DNO undertook a number of activities over the course of last year. The Bukha-4 well, completed in April 2013, is currently under observation with technical studies underway to assess potential options to establish it as a gas producer well, according to the company.
Also during the year, DNO announced the completion of West Bukha-5 which yielded good flow rates, while West Bukha-3 was also brought into production after successful well interventions. Block 30, a relatively small concession in the northwest of the country, is currently under appraisal. The 1,185 sq km block is home to the Nadir, Al Sahwa and Hafar gas field, collectively dubbed the 'NASH Trend', besides the Hamrat Duru field. According to DNO, all the gas discoveries within this block are currently deemed sub-commercial due to high nitrogen content in the gas. Rounding off DNO's portfolio of assets in the Sultanate is Block 31, also known as the Sunainah North Block, which is currently under relinquishment. (OEPPA Business Development Dept)
© Oman Daily Observer 2014
