Adnoc invites bids for five major blocks

dubai — The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) on Wednesday launched second bid round for five major exploration blocks with substantial oil and gas potential.

Out of five blocks that are open for bidding, three are offshore and two onshore. And bids are open for both conventional and unconventional resources.

A statement by one of the world’s leading energy and petrochemical groups said the blocks that are open for bidding are known as Offshore Block 3, Offshore Block 4, Offshore Block 5, Onshore Block 5 and Onshore Block 2, with the latter offering two separate licensing opportunities for conventional and unconventional oil and gas, respectively. In total, the five blocks comprise an area of approximately 34,000 square kilometres.

This second licensing bid round follows the conclusion, in March, of the award of the blocks in Abu Dhabi’s highly successful debut competitive exploration and production bid round, which covered and area of approximately 30,000 square kilometres.

The blocks in the first licensing bid round and this second bid round collectively cover approximately two-thirds of Abu Dhabi’s territory. In addition, one of the blocks offered —

Offshore Block 3 — is, area-wise, the largest block offered by Abu Dhabi in both the 2018 and 2019 block bid rounds, with an area of more than 11,000 square kilometres.

“This second bid round provides the next major opportunity for both new and existing partners, with best-in-class exploration technology and expertise, to join us in further unlocking Abu Dhabi’s substantial hydrocarbon resources in the UAE’s trusted and reliable investment environment,” said Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Adnoc Group CEO.

Adnoc said that based on existing data from detailed petroleum system studies, seismic surveys, exploration and appraisal wells data, estimates suggest the blocks in the second bid round hold multiple billion barrels of oil and multiple trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

“Some of the blocks already have discoveries and, within the combined geographical area of the second bid round blocks, there are 290 targeted reservoirs from 92 prospects and leads,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.

The closing date for the receipt of bids will be at the end of November 2019.