UAE energy major to boost ties with Saudi Aramco
Output cuts, new growth strategy of Adnoc dominate discussion at Adipec
The Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference 2018 (Adipec) came to an end yesterday, with Saudi Arabia’s energy minister hinting about possible production cuts at the next month’s Opec meeting in Vienna. Adnoc also unveiled plans to boost cooperation with Saudi Aramco and Mubadala Investment Company.
On the opening day of the international oil and gas exhibition, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid Al Falih emphasised the need to cut production by about one million barrels per day to balance oil markets in 2019.
“The consensus among all members is that we need to do whatever it takes to balance the market. If that means trimming supplies by a million, we will,” he told a packed gathering of oil and gas executives on Monday.
He also said Opec (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) was just as essential to the stability and growth of energy markets as central banks are to financial markets and monetary policy, saying that “there needs to be a central bank for the oil markets.”
In similar comments, Suhail Mohammad Al Mazroui, UAE Minister of Energy and Industry, said that the group will not add extra oil — that could lead to oversupply concerns — to the market.
“We are not going to oversupply if the market does not require it,” he said.
Defending Opec, he said there would be “chaos” in oil markets without the organisation.
Adnoc, on the other hand unveiled plans to boost cooperation with oil giant Saudi Aramco. The two companies will be exploring opportunities across natural gas and liquefied natural gas value chain both in the region as well as globally, a statement from Adnoc said.
Agreements
Adnoc also signed two separate agreements with Mubadala Investment Company to look for opportunities in refining and petrochemicals sector and an MoU with Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL) for crude storage at Padur in Karnataka.
Abu Dhabi’s national oil company also granted Italian oil major ENI a 40-year concession, awarding it a 25 per cent stake in its offshore ultra-sour gas mega project.
In other announcements, Adnoc said it will be investing Dh5.1 billion ($1.4 billion) to upgrade and expand its Bu Hasa field to increase oil production to 650,000 barrels per day.
Meanwhile, Adnoc is expected to spend over Dh18 billion on local goods and services as part of its in-country value programme.
“The amount that Adnoc and its contractor spend on local goods and its contractors spend on local goods and services is expected to grow further as recently awarded contracts progress to the implementation phase,” Adnoc said in a statement yesterday.