Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (Adnoc) is seeking final bids by Feb. 10 for concessions to the emirate’s largest onshore fields, said Abdullah Nasser Al Suwaidi, director general of the state-owned company, Bloomberg said Feb. 9.
The offers must match terms of the agreement Adnoc reached with Total SA, Al Suwaidi said at a conference in Dubai. Total is Adnoc’s first partner in a 40-year concession to fields in the biggest sheikhdom of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Al Suwaidi declined to say if any more bidders than Total have made final offers. The deadline is Feb. 10 “for those who haven’t submitted,” he said. Al Suwaidi declined to specify the terms of Adnoc’s agreement with Total, saying the fee the Paris-based company will earn for each barrel of oil it might produce is confidential.
Middle Eastern oil producers are adding capacity to pump crude for export amid an oversupply that has cut prices in half in the last six months. Abu Dhabi plans to increase total production capacity to 3.5 million barrels a day (MMbbl/d) by the end of 2017 from about 3 MMbbl/d now. Adnoc announced its choice of Total as partner on Jan. 29 and said it would “soon” name others.
Brent crude, a benchmark for more than half of the world’s oil, has dropped 25% since OPEC decided on Nov. 27 to keep its output target unchanged. Brent was trading at $57.95/bbl, up 15 cents, at 6:19 a.m. in London.
The UAE, an OPEC member, holds about 6% of global oil reserves, with most of its oil and natural gas in Abu Dhabi. The 15 deposits in the Abu Dhabi concession will produce 1.8 MMbbl/d in 2017 from 1.6 MMbbl/d today, Adnoc and Total said Jan. 29. Adnoc is spending about $22 billion on projects to increase onshore oil and gas production and export capacity, Omar Suwaina Al Suwaidi, its deputy director for strategy, said in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 11.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc was still in talks with Adnoc about participating in the concession, CEO Ben Van Beurden said Jan. 29. BP Plc, like Shell, was a partner in the group that previously operated the onshore fields and is “committed to Abu Dhabi for the long term,” Reem Mohammed, an Abu Dhabi-based spokeswoman, said Jan. 29.
Other companies Adnoc invited to bid include China National Petroleum Corp., Japan’s Inpex Corp., Korea National Oil Corp., Norway’s Statoil ASA, Occidental Petroleum Corp. of the U.S., Russia’s OAO Rosneft and Eni SpA of Italy.
Recommended Reading
Deep Well Services, CNX Launch JV AutoSep Technologies
2024-04-25 - AutoSep Technologies, a joint venture between Deep Well Services and CNX Resources, will provide automated conventional flowback operations to the oil and gas industry.
EQT Sees Clear Path to $5B in Potential Divestments
2024-04-24 - EQT Corp. executives said that an April deal with Equinor has been a catalyst for talks with potential buyers as the company looks to shed debt for its Equitrans Midstream acquisition.
Matador Hoards Dry Powder for Potential M&A, Adds Delaware Acreage
2024-04-24 - Delaware-focused E&P Matador Resources is growing oil production, expanding midstream capacity, keeping debt low and hunting for M&A opportunities.
TotalEnergies, Vanguard Renewables Form RNG JV in US
2024-04-24 - Total Energies and Vanguard Renewable’s equally owned joint venture initially aims to advance 10 RNG projects into construction during the next 12 months.
Ithaca Energy to Buy Eni's UK Assets in $938MM North Sea Deal
2024-04-23 - Eni, one of Italy's biggest energy companies, will transfer its U.K. business in exchange for 38.5% of Ithaca's share capital, while the existing Ithaca Energy shareholders will own the remaining 61.5% of the combined group.