About Us
ARA Petroleum (ARA) was formed in 2014 and is part of the wider Zubair Corporation, one of the oldest and most respected business groups from Oman who have broad interests across many sectors throughout the Middle East, Africa and beyond.
ARA is now a dynamic member of the Exploration & Production industry in Oman. The company is a full cycle E&P company which explores, appraises, develops and produces oil & gas resources both in Oman and internationally.
ARA was created due to a need in Oman for a nimble & fast acting operator who could quickly develop marginal accumulations by applying progressive systems, process and technologies that reduced the time and cost normally required for such production.
ARA quickly obtained very positive recognition by the stakeholders in Oman such that after initial operations ARA were soon approved to also operate Block 44 and promptly afterwards were awarded Block 31.
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ARA MISSION
To be a premier energy company engaged in the extraction & development of natural resources by investing in high potential assets to meet local and global energy needs.
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ARA Vision:
Produce more than 100,000 BOE/day by 2030 with best-in-class GHG emissions.
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ARA MISSION
To be a premier energy company engaged in the extraction & development of natural resources by investing in high potential assets to meet local and global energy needs.
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ARA Vision:
Produce more than 100,000 BOE/day by 2030 with best-in-class GHG emissions.
Full Cycle E&P Company
ARA Petroleum Values
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Integrity and business conduct
We are committed to conducting our business while adopting universally accepted international business standards and practices. Our strict adherence to highest standards of moral and ethical values, integrity, and transparency comes before anything we do in conducting business.
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People
Our people are safe and we know it. Protecting the environment as well as the wellbeing of our employees, our contractors, and the people we touch is a key principle.
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Technology
We constantly explore proven new methods and technologies in bringing efficiency and maximizing value to our business.
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Excellence
Through our commitment to excellence we will achieve our targets. Excellence comes as a result of being determined to continuously improve.
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Collaboration
We draw value from diversity and deliver exceptional results through teamwork within our company, with our customers, and our contractors.
The company is managed and staffed by a globally tested, professional and committed team of experts with an experience track record earned over decades all over the world. ARA utilizes the latest technologies to ensure the hydrocarbon assets are operated optimally and the recovery of oil & gas is maximized with no harm to people or to the environment. ARA is passionate about this objective and is taking giant strides towards becoming a carbon neutral operator.
Currently the company employs more than 200 professionals based out of the head quarter in Muscat, Oman with affiliated offices in Dar es Salaam, Trondheim and London. The company is engaged in exploration, development, and production of hydrocarbons. Currently the majority production is 85% oil and 15% gas, but with future development in Tanzania the blend will be closer to 50-50%. The company has ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 accreditations and has stellar HSE records.
Natural Resources
The creation of ARA Natural Resources (ANR) was a natural progression for ARA. The considerable sub-surface expertise housed within the group identified numerous mining opportunities such that ANR now have licences and operations in Turkey, Oman & Africa.
Technology Development
One objective of ARA Energy AS (Norway) and ARA Energy Ltd (UK) is the identification, investment, and development of new technology. A recent example is the acquisition of a very experienced digital twin simulation company that has been renamed SimQuation. In Addition, ARA has been instrumental in helping organisations bring their solutions to market by investing, utilising, or providing wells and facilities for the development of the technology. Some examples are innovative flow measurement devices, the use of solar arrays for steam & ultimately power generation and downhole solutions for solving a number of routine challenges.
ARA Group for the first time sets a new company record of over 15k BOE/d monthly average of exported oil & gas.
Our Operational History
2016 August
Qarat al Milh Small Fields contract with PDO was signed
Petroleum Development of Oman carved out an area of 5,700 sqkm within Block 6 to be developed on behalf of PDO by a small and nimble operator. ARA Petroleum was awarded the concession area and started operations in March 2017 after passing the initial HSE audit.
2016 August
Block 44 in Oman signed
ARA Petroleum acquired Block 44 operations in Oman from PTTEP late December 2016. Block 44 was developed by PTTEP as a gas producer and had been in production since 2010 (?) The block currently produces gas, condensate, and light crude.
2018
Block 31 in Oman was signed
Block 31 is the adjacent block to Block 44 in Oman and is a very large 8,300 sqkm exploration block previously held by a number of operators. ARA Petroleum was the first operator to make a discovery in the block in 2020 and is currently testing the Aflak oil discovery on a long term-test.
2018 October
Tanzania farm-in signed
ARA Petroleum acquired a 50% working Interest in the Ruvuma license in the southern Tanzania from AMINEX Plc. With the farm-in, ARA Petroleum became the operator for the Ntorya gas discovery. ARA Petroleum is currently appraising the big gas discovery and will work towards putting the field on production late 2024. In full production, the field will be the biggest onshore producing asset in Tanzania and is planned to fill the available ullage of 140 MMScf/d at the Madimba plant.
2022 September
Acquire Scirocco's 25% interest in the Ruvuma Concession
In agreement with Scirocco Energy PLC (Scirocco), ARA Petroleum Tanzania (APT) has announced its decision to exercise its pre-emption rights to acquire Scirocco’s 25% interest in the Ruvuma Concession. APT’s interest in the Ruvuma Concession has now increased from 50% to 75%. This means that APT and Aminex (AEX) now hold 100% Working Interest in the large Ntorya on-shore gas discovery in Ruvuma.
Commenting on the acquisition, Sultan Al Ghaithi, Chief Executive Officer of ARA Petroleum said, “The acquisition of Scirocco’s interests underlines our strategy to reinforce our portfolio with a greater stake in high-quality assets and strengthen our long-term presence in Tanzania. It also reaffirms our confidence in the asset and commitment to continue supporting the region’s oil and gas industry.”
2023 December
ARA Group for the first time sets a new company record of over 15k BOE/d monthly average of exported oil & gas.
Plans are being prepared and others are place to steadily increase this figure in the months & years ahead.
2024 January
Gas Sales Agreement for the Ntorya Gas Field
ARA Petroleum Tanzania (APT), TPDC, and Ndovu Resources, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aminex PLC have officially signed the Gas Sales Agreement for the Ntorya Gas Field. The signing ceremony was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy, Hon. Dato Biteko. This milestone agreement marks a significant step in the development of the Ntorya Gas Field, located in Mtwara Province, Tanzania.
2024 May
ARA Petroleum Tanzania Receives Development Licence for Ntorya Gas Field
ARA Petroleum is pleased to announce that the Ministry of Energy in Tanzania has granted a 25-year Development Licence over the Ntorya gas discovery area to the Ruvuma joint venture.
“We are delighted to receive this licence from the Ministry of Energy and thank all the Tanzanian agencies involved in achieving this major milestone. We are ready to launch work immediately to bring this onshore development project into production,” said Erhan Saygi, General Manager of ARA Petroleum Tanzania (APT).
APT considers the area to yield a matured unaudited Contingent Resource estimate of 3.45 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of Gas Initially In Place (GIIP), with an mean unrisked GIIP potential of 16.4 tcf and a risked mean potential of 6.9 tcf for the wider Ruvuma JV area.
Map showing key outlines of mapped opportunities in the Ntorya gas discovery area from ongoing seismic interpretation work.