Local cadres to work in Kingdom's oil exploration process — Kharabsheh

AMMAN — The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources will rely on local cadres for the kingdom's oil and gas exploration, while international companies will process and analyse the available data, Energy Minister Saleh Kharabsheh said on Wednesday.

In a ministry statement, Kharabsheh highlighted the availability of databases that include two- and three-dimensional seismic surveys of a number of regions; previously processed with unsophisticated software.

He added that translating these surveys into information could help with oil and gas exploration.

The ministry has identified targeted spots and lines for 3D seismic surveys, he said, adding that specialised international companies will be consulted to reprocess this data to access more information about the sites of 1,930 linear kilometres.

The available data on Al Sarhan and Al Jafr is being processed by the National Petroleum Company in cooperation with an international company, Kharabsheh said, noting that the initial indicators are good and will be supported by the drilling process, which will begin in February.

Stressing that the ministry will intensify exploration activities over the next two years, Kharabsheh expressed the ministry’s keenness to receive any investor with technical and financial capacity.