APD (Beirut) - London-based oil exploration and production company, Burren Energy, announced on Monday that it concluded two separate deals for oil exploration with each of Yemen and the Sultanate of Oman.
According to a statement released by Burren Energy, the production sharing agreement (PSA) with the Yemeni ministry of petroleum and mineral resources gives the company exclusive exploration rights in onshore block number six and a 92% share of yield.
For Oman, the company signed an agreement with Oman Hunt Oil Company to explore and develop maritime oil block number 50, of which Burren's share will be 40%.
The government of Oman is trying to increase its oil and gas production after statistics in mid 2005 revealed a slight decrease in the quantity of oil produced in the Sultanate.
According to statistics published by the Omani ministry of national economy in August of 2005, Oman's average daily oil production in the first five months of 2005 amounted to 771,400 barrels per day (bpd) compared with 783,800 bpd for the same period of 2004, representing a 1.6 percent decrease.
Natural gas production also declined 1.3 percent in the first five months of last year to 312.816 billion cubic feet compared to 316.928 billion cubic feet for the same period of 2004.
In July of 2005, UK-based Petrofac secured a $200 million three-year deal to build a natural gas plant in the north of Oman.
The Yemeni government is also eager to develop its gas and oil sectors in order to boost economic growth in the impoverished republic. In July 2005, Yemen's ministry of petroleum and minerals granted seven licenses to four oil companies to explore, develop, and export the country's oil wealth.
Companies who won licenses included Occidental Petroleum Corporation, Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company, Oil Search of Papua New Guinea, and Thani Corporation of the United Arab Emirates.
According to media reports, a new round of selling oil and gas licenses for 14 blocks by Yemen's government is scheduled to close on February 14, after the government extended the bidding period by 40 days.
Both of Burren Energy's new contracts are still subject to approval by authorities in Oman and Yemen. Ratification of the Yemeni PSA by the parliament in Sana'a is expected before the end of February, the company said.
Burren Energy is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company which is listed on the London Stock Exchange. The company, which has oil interests in Africa, India and the Caspian Sea, signed its first two Middle Eastern exploration agreements in 2004 and 2005 in Egypt. [TS]
By Abdo Choueiri
APD (Arab Press Digest) 2006
