E&P

Oman is looking to boost exploration and production to grow the contribution of oil and gas to the economy. (Image source: Oman Ministry of Energy & Minerals)

Oman’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals has announced the offering of five concession areas in the oil and gas sector for competitive bidding to local and international petroleum companies

The five concession areas are distributed across a wide geographical area and have significant geological potential, according to the Ministry. They are as follows:
· Blocks 12 and 16: Located in the “Greater Barik Area” in central Oman, covering areas of 5,050 sq km and 4,496 sq. km respectively.
· Block 55: Located in the “Eastern Flank Province”, spanning an area of 7,564 sq. km.
· Blocks 42 and 45: Located in the “Sharqiyah Sands Basin” and surrounding areas, with Block (42) covering 30,682 sq. km and Block (45) covering 5,483 sq. km.

The Ministry explained that the application process goes through several stages, including reviewing the available opportunities, registering and submitting the required documents, obtaining the technical data, and then submitting proposals through the designated platform before the deadline. Companies interested in participating can review the tender details through the tender website via the QR Code. Registration will commence on 12 April 2026 and continue until 30 September 2026, with results to be announced following the completion of the technical and financial evaluation of the submitted bids.

The Ministry affirmed that the bid round is part of its ongoing approach to enhancing the investment environment and improving transparency, thereby contributing to attracting quality investments, strengthening international partnerships, transferring modern technologies, and maximising the added value of the oil and gas sector, while supporting sustainability and enhancing the sector’s contribution to the national economy, in line with the objectives of Oman Vision 2040.

The launch of the bid round follows the signing of a concession agreement in February between Oman's Ministry of Energy and Minerals and a joint venture of OQ Exploration and Production and Malaysian group Petronas for offshore block (18) in the Sea of Oman covering a 21,000 sq km area, which offers significant frontier exploration potential across diverse geological settings, from shallow to ultra-deep water.

Several new discoveries have been reported in Libya. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Libya’s National Oil Company (NOC) has reported three new discoveries

Firstly, the NOC and Eni North Africa, the operator of Contract 4/16, have made a new discovery in offshore western LIbya, around 95 km from the coast, following successful drilling of the exploration well J1-4/16.

Drilling was completed to a final depth of 10,458 feet. Tests of the Metlawi reservoir produced flow rates across two tests: 14 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) through a 32/64-inch choke in the first test, and 24 MMcf/d through a 62/64-inch choke in the second.

This well is the final one in fulfilling nine contractual obligations for offshore Contract Block D, as stipulated in the agreement signed in June 2008.

The NOC and Repsol Libya Branch (REMSA) have reported a new oil discovery following the drilling of the exploratory well “J1-4/130” in Contract Area “131/130” in the Murzuq Basin, around 800 km south of Tripoli. The well reached a final depth of 4,325 feet and is producing an average of 763 barrels of oil per day from the Mummiyat Formation.

This well is the fifth of the company’s eight contractual commitments under the Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA) signed between the NOC and REMSA in 2008.

The NOC and Sonatrach Petroleum Exploration and Production Corporation Libya Branch (SIPEX), the operator of Contract Area 95/96 in Libya’s Ghadames Basin, have made a new oil and gas discovery following the drilling of the A1-69/02 exploration well, located 70 km from the Wafa field.

The well was completed to a final depth of 8,440 feet and is delivering production rates of 13 million cubic feet of gas and 327 barrels of condensate per day from the Awynat Wanin and Awyn Kaza formations.

This is the sixth well drilled by Sonatrach out of eight planned under the Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA) signed in May 2008 between NOC and Sonatrach.

As reported in the Libya Herald, the chairman of the NOC, Masoud Suleiman, affirmed that the new discoveries made in the Murzuq and Ghadames basins, as well as the offshore area, reflect the significant potential of Libya’s oil and gas sector and support the NOC’s strategic directions in developing its hydrocarbon resources. He stressed the NOC’s commitment to continuing exploration activity to increase reserves and production.

The discoveries follow two earlier discoveries by Eni reported in mid-March, together estimated at around one trillion cubic feet, approximately 85 km off the coast, and 16 km south of the Bahr Essalam gas field, Libya’s largest offshore field. These discoveries are projected to add about 130 million cubic feet of gas per day, boosting the NOC’s capacity to meet both domestic and international market demands and helping to address any gas supply shortages.

“This discovery highlights the promising potential of Libya’s offshore basins and continues the NOC’s efforts to boost production rates and develop the country’s natural resources,” the NOC commented.

The discovery offers the potential for fast-track investment. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Eni has made a significant gas and condensate discovery in Egypt, with the successful drilling of the Denise W 1 exploration well in the offshore Temsah Concession in the Eastern Mediterranean

Preliminary estimates indicate about 2 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas initially in place (GIIP) and 130 Mbbl of associated condensates.

The Denise W discovery lies 70 km offshore in 95 m of water depth and less than 10 km from existing infrastructure, offering potential for a fast-track development. It features a gas-bearing sandstone reservoir of excellent quality with about 50 m of net pay, similar to the nearby Temsah field.

The drilling of Denise W-1 follows the agreement signed in July 2025 with EGPC and EGAS for a 20-year renewal of the Temsah Concession. Eni operates the Denise Development Lease of the Temsah Concession with a 50% contractor working interest, with bp holding the remaining 50%. The asset is operated through Petrobel, the joint venture operating company between Eni and EGPC.

“The discovery reinforces Eni’s commitment to supporting Egypt’s national goals of boosting reserves and increasing gas production, thereby strengthening the country’s energy security. Also, this new discovery confirms Eni’s successful strategy in substantially rejuvenating producing assets through near-field and infrastructure-led exploration,” Eni said in a statement. In a meeting on the sidelines of the Egyptian Energy Show, the company is reported to have committed to invest US$2bn in Egypt’s energy sector this year.

Eni has been active in Egypt since 1954 and today holds a diversified portfolio spanning exploration, development, and production, with oil and gas production of 242,000 boed equity in 2025. Eni is the operator of Egypt’s largest gas field, Zohr.

The discovery will have come as music to the ears of the Egyptian government, which is encouraging investment and incentivising exploration and production to reverse years of decline and reduce energy imports, a drive which is being given additional impetus by the current situation in the Middle East. These efforts seem to be paying off, with a number of promising discoveries being made recently. This year, Dragon Oil announced a new oil discovery following the successful drilling of the South El Wasl ‘B.B2’ exploration well in the Gulf of Suez, with initial results indicating production rates above 2,000 bpd of oil. While US Apache, in collaboration with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), has made a new natural gas discovery in the Western Desert, following the drilling of the SKAL-1X exploratory well in the South Kalabsha area, with initial test results indicating a daily production rates of approximately 26 million cubic feet (mmcf) of natural gas and 2,700 barrels of condensate. Last December, Dana Gas made a significant gas discovery following the drilling of the North El-Basant 1 exploratory well in Egypt’s onshore Nile Delta, which indicated the presence of estimated reserves of 15-25 bn cu/ft of gas, with production potential of more than 8 mn cu/ft per day once the well is connected to the national network.

There have been several promising recent discoveries in Egypt. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Arcius Energy, the bp and XRG joint venture focused on Egypt gas development, has announced the Final Investment Decision (FID) to develop the Harmattan gas field in the El Burg Offshore concession area, one of the joint venture’s first projects in Egypt

The investment, estimated at around US$500mn, aims to increase natural gas production to meet domestic market needs and follows hard on the heels of Arcius’s acquisition of the El Burg Offshore concession area in February 2026, which lies approximately 2.5 km north of Ras El-Barr in Damietta. Arcius plans to develop the field through drilling of up to three wells and the installation of a fixed offshore platform, connected by a 50-km pipeline to onshore processing facilities located near Port Said. Expected start-up of production is in 2028. The project aims to produce approximately 150mn cubic feet of gas and 3,300 barrels of condensates daily.

Pharaonic Petroleum Company (PhPC), acting on behalf of El Burg Offshore Petroleum Company, has awarded the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation (EPCI) contract to ENPPI, with Petroleum Marine Services and Petrojet as subcontractors.

Naser Al Yafei, chief executive officer of Arcius, commented, “The Final Investment Decision to develop the Harmattan field marks an important milestone in advancing one of our first projects in Egypt toward production. It reflects our confidence in the potential of Egypt’s energy sector and our commitment to close cooperation with the Egyptian government, EGAS, and our execution partners to strengthen Egypt’s natural gas supply, support energy security, and reinforce Egypt’s position as a regional energy hub in the Eastern Mediterranean.”

Arcius Energy was established in December 2024 as a regional gas platform focused initially on the development of gas assets in Egypt and the wider Eastern Mediterranean, with bp holding 51% and XRG, ADNOC’s international investment arm, holding 49%. It holds 10% of Shorouk which contains the producing Zohr field; 100% of North Damietta which contains the producing Atoll and Qattameya fields; 100% of El Burg Offshore which contains the Harmattan field; 100% of the North El Tabya exploration concession, and 50% of the Bellatrix–Seti East and North El Fayrouz exploration concessions.

The agreement, signed at the Egypt Energy Show held in Cairo from 30 March-1 April, comes as Egypt is pushing to boost its oil and gas production in a bid to reverse recent declines and reduce energy imports. Recent discoveries are helping to achieve this aim, and there are plans to drill 480 new exploration wells over the next five years at a cost of around US$5.7bn.

On the sidelines of the Egypt Energy Show, majors such as bp, Chevron and Eni confirmed their commitment to make further investments in the market, acknowledging the efforts made by the Egyptian government to improve the investment environment. bp, which was recently awarded the licence for the North-east Alamein Offshore concession, signed an agreement with South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company (GANOPE) to carry out exploration in the Red Sea.

“We are excited about bringing the drillship, Valaris DS-12, back to Egypt to embark on a multi-well campaign to produce, develop and explore for more gas resources,” said William Lin, executive vice president for Gas and Low Carbon Energy in a LinkedIn post.

Also signed at the Egypt Energy Show was an MoU between slb and Ganope to design and deploy cost-effective geophysical solutions that derisk exploration and unlock new resource potential in the Red Sea.