UK-based energy giant and LNG player, BP and Oman Oil Company Exploration & Production signed a deal with the Omani government to amend the block 61 exploration and production sharing agreement.
Under the agreement, the license area will be extended enabling further development of the Khazzan gas field, BP said in a statement.
The extension adds more than 1000 square kilometers to the south and west of the original 2,700 square kilometers of Block 61, allowing the second phase of development which would access additional gas identified by drilling activity within the original block.
Development of this additional resource is subject to final approval of the Government of Oman and of BP, both expected in 2017.
BP is the operator of Block 61 with a 60 percent interest and Oman Oil Company Exploration & Production holds the other 40 percent.
The Khazzan reservoirs in Block 61 represent one of the Middle East’s largest unconventional tight gas accumulations and is expected to represent around 40 percent of the country’s current total domestic gas production.
The Phase 1 project, sanctioned in December 2013, is more than 80 percent complete and remains on schedule to deliver first gas in late 2017. Subject to final approval, Khazzan Phase 2 project is expected to come on stream around 2020.
Together, the two projects are expected to produce 1.5 bcf/d of gas through the development of 10.5 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas resources, involving the construction of a three-train central processing facility with associated gathering and export systems and drilling over 300 wells over a 15 year period.