Qatar Petroleum (QP) has signed an agreement to acquire a 30 per cent share in the contractor’s interest under the exploration and production sharing agreement (EPSA) for Oman’s offshore Block 52.

The parties under the EPSA are the Omani government and the contractor, which, following approval, will comprise of Italy’s Eni with a 55 per cent participating interest, Qatar Petroleum with a participating interest of 30 per cent and Oman Oil Company (OOC) with the remaining 15 per cent participating interest.

Earlier this year it was reported that Eni and Oman Oil Company would be awarded the rights to explore the block. Eni decided to sell 30 per cent of its original 85 per cent participating interest to QP.

Block 52 has a total area of more than 90,000 square kilometres and is located in water depths ranging from 10 metres to deeper than 2,000 metres. The contractor parties will carry out an initial exploration survey through 3D imaging, which will be followed by exploration drilling. Eni is the designated operator of the block.