Japan’s Inpex Corp said it had agreed with Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) to extend its holdings in the Satah and Umm Al-Dalkh offshore oilfields in Abu Dhabi by about 25 years, Nikkei Asian Review reported.
Inpex added it would also be granted an additional 28% stake, currently owned by ADNOC, in the Umm Al-Dalkh oilfield, increasing the Japanese firm’s holding to 40%.
No price tag was disclosed. This came as Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Hiroshige Seko, met mid January with ADNOC’s CEO, Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, according to Reuters. They reached a basic agreement on the extension. Inpex’s concessions on the Umm al-Dalkh and Satah fields off the coast of Abu Dhabi were originally set to expire in March 2018.
The Satah and Umm Al-Dalkh oil fields, operated by Zakum Development Co (ZADCO), produce about 20,000b/d and 15,000b/d respectively.
The capital of the United Arab Emirates appears to have granted the 25-year extension in consideration of Japan’s contributions to the emirate in health care and other areas. For Japan, Abu Dhabi is its second-largest supplier of crude oil after Saudi Arabia.
