Eocambrian outcrops and hydrocarbons in Southern Oman
The author took part in a 10-day industry field trip to study the Huqf and younger exposures in 2011, from which many outcrop photos are used to illustrate this article.…
Middle East
New studies in the Levant Basin offshore Israel
The Israeli Ministry of Energy has been at the centre of these activities, both from a technology and analysis and interpretation perspective. It has also facilitated recent initiatives and research…
An Exposed Salt Dome
The salt exposed here consists of halites of the Ara Salt, which was deposited around 540 million years ago during the earliest Cambrian. The core of the dome, where the…
Mesopotamia – the Cradle of Civilization
Several thousand years ago, between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, the rich and fertile soil of Mesopotamia gave birth to civilization. Today, deeply buried oil and gas reservoirs provide Mesopotamia…
Encouraging Exploration
In the barren landscape of the Syrian desert you may find an occasional drilling rig exploring for hydrocarbons. In the years to come several more rigs are expected to enter,…
Iraq: Targeting Giants in Kurdistan
Oil is flowing to the surface in several seeps within the license area, and nearby giant fields have been producing for decades. The well Tawke # 1 is certainly being…
Yemen – for the smaller players
Despite Yemen’s modest and, as yet not fully explored, oil resources, the country has shown an impressive progress in the business. Since the preliminary geological studies started in the eighties,…
UAE – Looking Outward
A cautious road to international participation in upstream exploration in the UAE, with hydrogen in hot pursuit. The Middle East is not a region associated with open international participation, since…
Dr Wendell Phillips: Adventures in Middle Eastern Oil
The 20th century American explorer Dr Wendell Phillips is best known for his colorful exploits in archaeology, and for being an independent oilman who broke into the Middle East at…
Oman: Offshore Shows More Hydrocarbon Potential
Masirah Oil Ltd, an 86.37% owned subsidiary of Rex International Holding Ltd, has had exciting results from its three well campaign on the Yumna Field, Block 50, offshore Oman. However…
The Land That Oil Forgot: Palestine, 1913–1948
Israeli premier Golda Meir once said, “Moses took us 40 years through the desert in order to bring us to the one spot in the Middle East that has no…
Oman’s Musandam Peninsula: Geodynamic and Geopolitical Nexus
Admire soaring, fjord-like walls of Mesozoic limestone as you glide through the Strait of Hormuz by dhow, the type of traditional wooden ships that today share this strategic waterway with…