Swedish firm Tethys Oil announced the beginning of drilling operations this week at Block 49 in southwest Oman. The ‘Thameen-1’ well will be drilled to 4,000ms depth in the northwest section of the block and is expected to take 45 days to complete.
The commencement of drilling kicks off what could become a major exploration push for unconventional resources in the underexplored Omani south. Tethys acquired seismic in the area in 2017 (MEES, 24 November 2017), and received a significant boost in November when US shale powerhouse EOG signed up at the block as a junior partner with a 50% interest (MEES, 13 November 2020). This came just one month after EOG took operatorship of the adjacent Block 36, also eying the region’s unconventional potential (MEES, 25 September 2020). (CONTINUED - 179 WORDS)