Abu Dhabi extends concession at major oilfield to boost output

ABU DHABI: The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said yesterday it had signed an agreement with US and Japanese oil firms to extend their concessions and boost output at the emirate’s biggest oilfield. ADNOC said in a statement it signed the agreement with US giant ExxonMobil and Japan’s INPEX to raise output at the Upper Zakum offshore field by around 350,000 barrels per day to one million bpd by 2024. The agreement extended the concession of the two companies by a decade to end by 2051. Located 83 kilometres (52 miles) northwest of Abu Dhabi, Upper Zakum is the world’s fourth-largest oilfield and the secondlargest offshore, containing almost half of the United Arab Emirates’ proven reserves-nearly 100 billion barrels.

“This agreement is another milestone in our efforts to forge partnerships that bring technology, expertise and capital aimed at delivering greater economic value and levels of recovery from our resources,” ADNOC CEO Sultan AlJaber said. The agreement is part of efforts by ADNOC to push UAE production capacity to 3.5 million bpd from about 3.2 million bpd currently.

Japan’s INPEX began the partnership with ADNOC to develop Upper Zakum in 1978. They were joined by ExxonMobil in 2006. No financial details were given for the agreement but the ongoing project is estimated to cost around $10 billion. ADNOC has 60 percent of the concession, ExxonMobil 28 percent and INPEX 12 percent. ADNOC yesterday also signed an agreement with a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Co. (CNPC) to raise the onshore Bab field’s production by 30,000 bpd to 450,000 bpd by 2020. On Monday, ADNOC said it will float a minority stake in its petrol station subsidiary in the first privatization of the totally state-owned oil sector.