Swedish oil company Tethys Oil, which has Oman as its core area of focus, said it plans to invest around $47 million in 2021 in its portfolio of upstream oil & gas assets in the Sultanate in 2021.

The company would continue to capitalise on “promising growth opportunities in the Sultanate of Oman” linked to its “enhanced asset portfolio, Tethys Oil Managing Director Magnus Nordin was quoted as saying by Oman Observer.

“2021 should see five exploration/appraisal wells and new seismic studies conducted across our asset portfolio all funded by our profitable production asset (Blocks 3&4) while leaving room to continue to fund our growth and our (dividend) distributions to shareholders,” Nordin said.

Of the total commitment of around $47 million pledged this year, the lion’s share of around $32 million is earmarked towards Blocks 3&4, a pair of flagship producing blocks located in central Oman, the Oman Observer report said.

Tethys Oil has a 30 per cent working interest in the blocks, with the rest shared between CC Energy Development Oman Branch (50 per cent) and Mitsui E&P Middle East (20 per cent). CC Energy Development is also the operator of Blocks 3&4.

“The focus of the work programme on Blocks 3&4 is continued development drilling, upgrading infrastructure with focus on asset integrity and debottlenecking, continue the gas utilisation project and the drilling of exploration wells,” a company statement said.

The work programme for Block 49, located in the southwest of the Sultanate, will primarily focus on completing the drilling, testing and evaluation of the newly drilled Thameen-1 exploration well.

Although no flows were recorded at surface, logs indicated a gross hydrocarbon column of close to 40 metres, said the company, adding that it will plan the next steps for the Block once all of the data linked to the well are compiled and evaluated.

Block 56, located in the southeast of the country, will see up to three wells drilled in the Al Jumd area of the concession, in addition to the planning of a 3D seismic acquisition in the central area of the block. Tethys Oil holds a 65 per cent interest in Block 56 and is the operator of the concession.

Block 58, which was awarded to Tethys Oil last July, represents a “new exciting exploration licence”, according to the company.

“The Block borders Tethys Oil’s other operated block, Block 49 and holds some very interesting geological features that hopefully will be upgraded to drillable prospects in the not-too-distant future,” the statement said.