Maha awarded new onshore block onshore in Oman

Sweden’s Maha Energy announce that it was awarded a new onshore block in the shallow undeveloped Mafraq heavy oil field in Oman.

The Block is located in the middle of the oil producing Ghaba Salt Basin in the central part of Oman. 

Maha will (through a wholly owned subsidiary) be the operator of the Block and hold a 100 per cent working interest. The entry into Oman marks a milestone for the Company’s diversification strategy. The Block agreement is scheduled to be signed on 1 October 2020 and is further subject to a Royal Decree. 

Jonas Lindvall, president and chief executive officer of Maha, commented: “To be allowed an opportunity to explore and develop the Mafraq oil field is an exceptional opportunity to add value to Maha and the people of Oman.  The Mafraq oil field contains significant amounts of oil and previous and extensive pump tests has proven the productivity of the field.”

The Mafraq field is estimated by third parties to contain between 185 – 280 million barrels of original oil in place (OIP).  The productive reservoir is shallow, at approximately 430 m. below ground level.

Jonas Lindvall further commented:” The fact that PDO did not develop this asset is by no means a reflection of the quality of the asset, it just reflects the reality of constrained resources and project ranking.”

The Block covers an area of 639 km2 and is covered by both 2D and 3D seismic data that has been acquired by previous operators has been made available to Maha. Eight wells have been drilled within the block boundary, five of which are on the Mafraq oil field.

The Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA) for Block 70 covers an initial exploration period of three years with an optional extension period of another three years. In case of a commercial oil or gas discovery, the EPSA can be transformed into a fifteen year production license which can be extended for another five years.

In case of a commercial discovery the Oman Government Oil Company has a right to acquire up to a 30 per cent interest in Block 70 against refunding the pro rata share of past expenditure. The initial work commitments during the first period include geological studies, seismic reprocessing and well commitments.