Kistos Energy makes Oman upstream debut in Blocks 3&4

MUSCAT, SEPT 8
UK-based independent energy company Kistos Holdings is set to establish a presence in Oman’s upstream energy sector following the ratification by Royal Decree of its acquisition of a 20 per cent working interest in the producing Blocks 3 & 4 from Japan’s Mitsui E&P Middle East BV.
Royal Decree 78/2026, issued by His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik on September 3 and published in Official Gazette on September 6, formally approves Mitsui’s assignment of its 20 per cent rights and obligations under the petroleum agreement governing Blocks 3 & 4 to Kistos Energy Middle East.
Following the transfer, the participating interests in Blocks 3 & 4 comprise CC Energy SAL as operator with 50 per cent, Tethys Oil AB with 30 per cent, and Kistos Energy Middle East with 20 per cent.
The transaction marks Kistos’ first entry into Oman and the wider Middle East, adding long-life, onshore producing assets to a portfolio spanning the UK, Norway and the Netherlands. The company views Oman as a platform for further regional expansion.
Kistos agreed in December 2025 to acquire Mitsui’s 20 per cent interest in Blocks 3 & 4 together with a 5 per cent interest in Block 9 for an aggregate $148 million, funded from existing cash. Of this, $100 million was allocated to Blocks 3 & 4 and $48 million to Block 9, subject to customary closing adjustments. The transaction has an economic effective date of January 1, 2025.
Located in eastern Oman, Blocks 3 & 4 cover around 29,000 sq km and encompass seven producing fields. Kistos says the assets have demonstrated strong exploration potential, including two successful exploration wells drilled during the first half of 2025.
Kistos and its partners envisage drilling another 13 exploration wells by end-2029, targeting around 8 million barrels of prospective resources net to Kistos, with a further 40 million barrels of net follow-up potential.
Together, Blocks 3 & 4 and Block 9 account for around 6 per cent of Oman’s gross daily hydrocarbon production, according to Kistos. The combined acquisition was expected to add 25.6 million barrels of oil equivalent of 2P reserves net to the company and around 9,000–10,000 boepd of net production.
Andrew Austin, Executive Chairman of Kistos, commented: “Royal Decree on Blocks 3 & 4 marks Kistos' official entry into the MENA region, with the overall transaction with Mitsui in Oman doubling the Company's current production and 2P reserves, providing geographical diversification to our portfolio and a platform for further growth.”
The associated acquisition of Mitsui’s 5 per cent working interest in Block 9, a producing 4,000-sq-km concession in northwestern Oman operated by Occidental, remains subject to completion.