The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) awarded a $744 million contract to the National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) for full field development of the Belbazem Offshore Block, located 120 kilometers (km) northwest of Abu Dhabi city, a relevant statement cited.

The block consists of three so-called marginal offshore fields; Belbazem, Umm Al Salsal, and Umm Al Dholou. Al Yasat Petroleum Operations Company Ltd (Al Yasat), ADNOC’s subsidiary and joint venture (JV) with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to the National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC), with an aim to unlock value from all of Abu Dhabi’s fields in parallel with an objective to expand oil production capacity to 5 million barrels per day (mmbbl/d) by 2030.

The scope of the award covers engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning activities for the offshore facilities required to enable full production capacity of 45,000 bpd of light crude with API gravity of around 35 degrees, and 27 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of associated gas from Belbazem. First oil is expected in 2023.

“NPCC was selected after a rigorous tender process that ensures it will deploy best-in-class technology and expertise to execute this strategic project, with a substantial part of the award value flowing back into the UAE’s economy to stimulate local economic growth, in line with the wise directives of our Leadership,” Yaser Saeed Almazrouei, ADNOC Upstream Executive Director, stated.