The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announced on Saturday the signing of an agreement to award Onshore Block 3 in the U.A.E’s Al Dhafra region to the U.S.- based international oil and gas exploration and production company, Occidental Petroleum.
Under the terms of the 35-year concession agreement, Occidental will hold a 100 percent stake in the exploration phase, investing AED 893 million (US $244 million), including a participation fee, to explore oil and gas in the block covering an area of 5,782 square kilometers.
Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) has endorsed the award.
'Existing 3D seismic data already covers a large part of the Block which, combined with its proximity to the Shah, Asab, Haliba and Sahl fields, suggests the concession area has very promising potential,' ADNOC’s statement read.
'Upon successful exploration – and having established the commerciality of the discovered resources – Occidental will be granted the opportunity to develop and produce any discoveries,' it added. ADNOC has the option to hold a 60 percent stake in the production phase of the concession.
According to the press release, the U.A.E. is the world’s seventh-largest oil producer, with about 96 percent of its reserves within the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Onshore Block 3 is the first onshore block to be awarded among the geographical areas that were offered for commercial bidding by ADNOC in April 2018 following the recent award of Abu Dhabi’s two offshore blocks.
'Based on existing data from detailed petroleum system studies, seismic surveys, log files and core samples from hundreds of appraisal wells, estimates suggest these new blocks 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 area there are 310 targeted reservoirs from 110 prospects and leads. In addition to the country’s conventional oil and gas accumulations, some of the offered blocks also contain significant unconventional resource potential,' it said.
By Hale Turkes
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr