BP and Eni signed a heads of agreement with the ministry of oil and gas of Oman to work jointly towards a new exploration opportunity in Oman.

Under the HoA, the two companies will work with the government of Oman towards the award of a new exploration and production sharing agreement (EPSA) for Block 77 in central Oman.

BP and Eni will now enter discussions with the Ministry to finalize details of the EPSA, BP said in a statement.

Block 77, with a total area of almost 3,100 square kilometers, is located in central Oman, 30 km east of the BP-operated Block 61 which contains the already-producing Khazzan gas project as well as the Ghazeer project, currently under development.

Khazzan began production in 2017 and now produces around 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day. Ghazeer, which is expected to add a further 0.5 bcf/d production, is currently under development, due to come onstream in 2021, BP said.