Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the state oil company of the UAE, has signed a deal worth $1.45 billion with the French Total SA, granting it two 40-year stakes in concessions offshore, according to the National Business.
Total now holds 20% of the Umm Shaif and Nasr concession and 5% of the Lower Zakum concession, together worth an approximate $1.4 billion, according to an ADNOC press release. Total is paying fees to each at $1.15 billion and $300 million respectively and is joining the ranks of Italian Eni, Japanese Inpex, and an Indian consortium led by ONGC Videsh.
Lower Zakum will have a production rate of 450,000 barrels per day (b/d), while Umm Shaif aims to produce 460,000 b/d on top of 500 million standard cubic feet per day (mscf/d) of natural gas.
Abu Dhabi, the hub of the UAE’s oil reserves, is currently allocating new oil concessions, as most previous agreements are set to expire this month.
Concessions already granted have gone to ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, INPEX, CNPC, Cespa, and ONGC Videsh.
ADNOC will retain a 60% stake across the various split concessions, with the remainder being divided up between the partners.
ADNOC is expected to announce the partners for the remaining stakes, being 10% in Lower Zakum, 10% in Umm Shaif and Nasr, and 20% in SARB and Umm Lulu.
ADNOC aims to increase its oil production capacity from 3.2 million barrels per day (mb/d) to 3.5 mb/d by the end of 2018, according to Arabian Business.
