The Block A contract area is located in the central part of the Rub Al-Khali desert. On January 26, 2004, LUKOIL was announced the winner of the international bid round for the natural gas field exploration and development in Block A. On February 12, 2007, LUKSAR (a joint venture of LUKOIL and Saudi Aramco) announced the discovery of hydrocarbon accumulations as a result of the deep exploration drilling on the Tukhman prospect.