Al Dhafra Petroleum, a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (ADNOC), the Korea National Oil Company (KNOC), and GS Energy announced it has begun producing crude oil from Abu Dhabi’s Haliba field, ADNOC said in a statement.

Haliba field, located along the southeast border of Abu Dhabi, will produce 4 million barrels per day (b/d) by the end of 2020. ADNOC see that production will increase to 40,000 b/d by the end of 2019. In addition, it discovered potential resources in three new fields, Al Humrah, Bu Tasah, and Bu Nikhelah, in its concession area.

Al Dhafra Petroleum, one of ADNOC’s youngest operating companies, embarked on an extensive appraisal program in Haliba field that enabled it to discover 1.1 billion barrels of original oil in place (OOIP), a significant increase from the 180 million initially estimated.

“The success of Haliba reinforces the UAE’s and South Korea’s strategic bilateral relations and reflects the importance ADNOC places on its long-term partnership with South Korea’s energy sector,” ADNOC emphasized.

ADNOC expects that Haliba will serve as the main production hub in Al Dhafra Petroleum’s concession area. Al Dhafra Petroleum continues to explore an additional 70 prospects in its concession area.

The crude oil produced from the Haliba field is transported to ADNOC Onshore’s Asab Central Degassing Station for processing.