Oman-based Petrogas Kahil has awarded a contract for the drilling of three exploration wells in Block 55 to global oil services company Schlumberger, a report said.

The one-year integrated drilling services contract is valued at around $20 million, Oman Observer reported, citing Schlumberger’s statement in its latest quarterly earnings report.

As part of the contract, Schlumberger will also deploy a range of its proprietary drilling technologies, including vertical drilling rotary steerable systems, modular compact wellhead systems and ridged diamond element bits, it said.

Petrogas has undertaken a comprehensive work programme, including the reprocessing of legacy 2D data and the acquisition of modern 3D seismic to evaluate prospective areas identified from gravity and magnetic surveys.

“The block is now covered with some 4,180 km of 2D and 130 km2 of 3D data. This new seismic coverage, along with well control provided by historic drilling has enabled new prospects and leads to be developed,” a Petrogas Kahil statement said.

The ongoing exploration programme, according to the operator, is focused on both the Eastern Flank and Tertiary Basin structural targets. The first well will target a mapped fault bounded dip-closure in the Tertiary with stacked reservoir objectives and an aggregate unrisked STOIIP (stock tank oil initially in place) significantly in excess of 100 million barrels.

In the event of a firm discovery of hydrocarbons, options are in place for the appraisal, development and monetization of the resources, said Petrogas.