Oman has signed a deal for oil and gas exploration with a Lebanese company, AFP reported Wednesday (January 10th).
Beirut-based Petroleb will drill exploratory wells to assess oil reserves in al-Afif concession area of southern Oman, inland from the Yemeni and Saudi Arabian borders, said the official ONA news agency.
Oman aims to "increase oil reserves and raise production rates in the sultanate" and discover new fields, the oil and gas ministry's director of planning and research Saleh bin Ali Anbouri said in a statement carried by ONA.
Oman was hit hard by the slump in oil prices since mid-2014 and joined an agreement by oil producers to cut output in a bid to shore up prices.
The deal with Petroleb is small by regional standards, with an estimated investment value of $20 million for Oman in the first three-year phase and between $20 and $40 million in the second phase.
Lebanon last month approved a bid for offshore oil and gas exploration off its own Mediterranean coast.
That deal was awarded to the only bidder, an international consortium including France's Total and Russia's Novatek.
