Exploration & Production

The Omani Ministry of Oil and Gas signed a six year exploration and production (E&P) agreement with Canada-based Allied Petroleum Exploration Inc (APEX). The development of Block 36, in the Dhofar region, is worth US$18mn.

LUKOIL has awarded Baker Hughes a two-year contract to provide full drilling and completion services for 23 wells in the West Qurna field in southeast Iraq.

Afren, a British oil company, announced that it is making a strategic entry into the Kurdistan region of Iraq with acquisitions in two oil fields in Kurdistan worth US$588mn.

Total posted a fall in second quarter profits by six per cent to US$4 billion compared to the pervious year, as the company was hampered by lower overall output and weaker refining margins.