MILANO: Oman Oil Co (OOC), the Sultanate’s investment arm in energy related sectors, and the leading Italian integrated energy company Eni finalised a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore cooperation opportunities in the oil and gas sector.
An agreement was signed in Milano City by Isam bin Saud al Zadjali, CEO of Oman Oil Co and Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni, in Milan, Italy, according to a press statement issued by Eni.
The ceremony was also attended by Dr Mohammed bin Hamad al Rumhy, Minister of Oil and Gas, Dr Ahmed bin Salim Baomar, Sultanate’s Ambassador to Italy and by a number of executives and senior officials from both companies.
Commenting on the occasion, Al Zadjali said, “This MoU with Eni is another step taken by Oman Oil Company to join hands with a strategic international partner seeking development areas in oil and gas sector.”
He expressed his pride that the strategic position of OOC as Oman’s national oil company, attracts major international oil companies’ investments into the Sultanate.
The Ministry of Oil and Gas (MOG) has also granted exploration rights to Eni and OOC Exploration & Production (OOCEP) in Block 52.
“We are very happy with this agreement and the award of Block 52,” said Eni’s CEO Descalzi.
“This MoU and exploration in Block 52 will allow Eni to start cooperating and investing in Oman and will enable our company to expand its presence in a key region of the Middle East.
“This is in line with our strategy aimed at diversifying our exploration portfolio across basins with liquid hydrocarbon potential while keeping high quality stakes throughout the exploration phase,” he said.
The Block 52 is an area of 90,000 sq km with a water depth ranging from 10m to 2,000 m with liquid hydrocarbon potential, located on the southern coast of the Sultanate.
The area is largely unexplored with the potential of hydrocarbon findings.
The area has been awarded following an international bid round process launched in October 2016. — ONA
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