Oman Oil Company Exploration & Production (OOCEP) has been awarded the development of the sultanate’s Block 48 concession.

The Oman Oil Company subsidiary will develop the 2,995-square-kilometre concession in two phases, investing $10m in the first and $15m in the second, the oil and gas ministry announced on Twitter.

The initial exploration period is for three years, where the firm will reprocess old seismic survey carrying out new 2D and 3D surveys, including drilling of a well.

Block 48 lies adjacent to Block 60, which is also operated by OOCEP. Block 60, a tight gas field also known as Abu Tabul is expected to deliver up to 70 million standard cubic feet of gas a day.

Oman has offered four blocks 30, 31 in the northwest as well as 49 and 52 in the south for oil and gas drilling in a bidding round, which began in October.

International oil and gas companies vacated these concessions as low oil prices and Oman’s high break-even costs made profitability challenging.