Italian oil giant Eni and Oman Oil Company S.A.O.C. (OOC) have finalized a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore oil and gas cooperation opportunities in the Middle Eastern country.
Eni said on Thursday that the deal was signed in Milan by Isam bin Saud Al Zadjali , CEO of OOC, and Claudio Descalzi , CEO of Eni.
The ceremony was also attended by Mohammed Al Rumhi , Oil and Gas Minister of the Sultanate of Oman and the chairman of OOC, Ahmed Salim Baomar , Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to Italy, and other executives and senior officials from both companies.
Al Zadjali said: “This MoU with Eni is another step taken by OOC to join hands with a strategic international partner seeking development areas in the oil and gas sector. The strategic position of OOC as Oman’s national oil company attracts major international oil companies’ investments in the Sultanate.”
The company added that Eni and OOCEP had been granted exploration rights in Block 52, an area of 90,000 km2 with a water depth ranging from 10 to 2,000 meters with liquid hydrocarbon potential, located offshore Oman.
The block was granted to the two companies by the Ministry of Oil & Gas of the Sultanate of Oman as part of its 2016 licensing round . The area is largely unexplored with the potential of hydrocarbons findings.
Eni’s CEO, Claudio Descalzi, added: “This MoU and exploration in Block 52 will allow Eni to start cooperating and investing in such an important East country and will enable our company to expand its presence in a key region of the Middle East, 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.”