Oman leans towards bilateral awards
The sultanate’s drawn-out bid round is ending in a whimper as breakout gas contracting discussions take priority
Oman’s future licensing rounds are likely to be replaced with direct negotiations unless more enticing acreage is to be carved out of its former block 6 area, after a single award in its most recent bid round. In early July 2020, Sweden’s Tethys Oil was confirmed as the sole winning bidder in its 2019 licensing round. The firm—which is an Omani success story, already holds stakes in blocks three and four (30pc), 49 (100pc) and 56 (20pc) and has previously sought to expand this footprint further—has been awarded block 58, which covers 4,557km2, spanning the western flank of the South Oman Salt Basin and the Western Deformation Front. Launched last February, the bid round covered five previous
Also in this section
13 March 2026
Brussels is again weighing a cap on gas prices amid the Hormuz crisis, but the measure could backfire by deterring the LNG cargoes Europe urgently needs
12 March 2026
Emergency oil stocks provide a last line of defence to oil market shocks, so the IEA’s unprecedented 400m bl release represents something of a double-edged sword
12 March 2026
LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
