Tethys Oil AB: Tethys Oil to be awarded new exploration license onshore Oman
Tethys Oil is pleased to announce that it will be awarded a new exploration license by the Ministry of Oil and Gas of the Sultanate of Oman. Block 49 is an onshore block that covers a prospective but still rather unexplored area in the South West of the Sultanate bordering the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Tethys Oil will through its wholly owned subsidiary Tethys Oil Montasar Ltd be the operator of the Block and hold a 100% of the license interest. The Block will be signed on 14 November 2017.
The Block 49 licence covers an area of 15,439 square kilometres. More than 11,000 kilometres of 2D seismic data that has been acquired by previous operators has been made available to Tethys Oil. Nine wells have been drilled within the block boundaries, several of which are reported to have encountered oil shows. Among the legacy wells is the first well ever drilled in Oman in 1955 (Dauka-1).
The exploration and production sharing agreement (EPSA) for Block 49 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 will be transformed in to a 15 year production license which can be extended for another five years. In case of a commercial discovery Oman Government Company, has a right to acquire up to a 30% interest in Block 49 against refunding of past expenditure. The initial work commitments during the first period include geological studies, seismic acquisition and processing and exploratory drilling.
"We are extremely pleased with having been awarded Block 49 and would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to the Government of Sultanate of Oman. Block 49 is the kind of opportunity Tethys Oil has been pursuing for some time. The Block covers an area with known oil shows, has a limited initial financial risk and offers several as yet immature but potentially very prolific play concepts. After more than ten years in Oman, Tethys Oil has built a strong technical team. As operator of the block, we are confident our Omani experience will be well suited to make Block 49 into a success," says Tethys Managing Director Magnus Nordin.
For further information, please contact
Magnus Nordin, Managing Director, phone +46 70 5766 555
or
Jesper Alm, CFO, phone +46 70 1010 980
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This information is information that Tethys Oil AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 08:00 CET on 9 November 2017.
Tethys Oil AB (publ)
Tethys Oil is a Swedish oil company with focus on onshore areas with known oil discoveries. Tethys Oil's core area is Oman, where the company holds 2P reserves of 21 mmbo and has oil production of about 12,000 barrels per day from Blocks 3&4. Tethys Oil also has onshore exploration licences in Lithuania and France and some production in Lithuania. The shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (TETY).
Website: www.tethysoil.com