2010-08-31-2010-08-16-2010-08-16

To buy 50% interest in Block 47 onshore Oman.

Repsol Exploracion SA has acquired a 50% interest in Block 47, onshore the Sultanate of Oman, from United Arab Emirates-based E&P company Rak Petroleum Public Co. Ltd. Rak Petroleum will retain operatorship of the block.

The partnership plans to spud an initial well on the Zad prospect, which is targeting the Amin sandstone reservoir, in October.

"While the Zad prospect is purely an exploration play, it is conveniently located close to both gas and oil pipelines and presents a favorable development opportunity if a discovery is made," says Rak Petroleum chairman and chief executive Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani.

Rak Petroleum is registered in the Free Trade Zone of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah and is operator of seven blocks in the Sultanate of Oman and in the United Arab Emirates. The company also has a nonoperated 30% interest in the Hammamet offshore license in Tunisia and a 30% shareholding in publicly traded Norwegian oil and gas company DNO International ASA.