The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has awarded Italy’s Eni and Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) two offshore exploration blocks in a commercial bid round, CNBC reported.

PTTEP and Eni will hold a 100% stake in the exploration phase with investments for oil and gas exploration exceeding $230 million.

In case of any commercial discoveries, ADNOC will hold a 60% stake in the production phase.

The offshore exploration blocks, Offshore 1 and Offshore 2, cover an area of more than 8,000 square kilometers.

The concession agreements were signed by ADNOC CEO Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi and PTTEP President and CEO Phongsthorn Thavisin, in what is dubbed as Abu Dhabi’s first-ever open block licensing round, which began in April 2018.

“With this agreement we are all excited because it’s the first ever time we’ve come into the UAE (United Arab Emirates),” Thavisin told CNBC after the signing.