UAE awards France's Total stakes in oil concessions

pulse

March 18, 2018 12:02 PM

Abu Dhabi state energy company ADNOC said Sunday it had awarded French oil giant Total stakes in two offshore oil concessions, as it looks to boost production by years end.

Total now holds a fifth of the Umm Shaif and Nasr concession and 5 percent of the Lower Zakum concession, together worth some 5.3 billion dirhams ($1.4 billion, 1.2 million euros), ADNOC said in a press release.

Both concessions are effective March 9 for a duration of 40 years and are operated by ADNOC Offshore, a subsidiary of ADNOC, according to the statement.

Sunday's signing was hosted by the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the billion-euro French-Emirati project that is the first Louvre-branded museum outside of France.

Abu Dhabi, where most of the UAE's vast oil reserves are located, is in the process of awarding new oil concessions, as previous agreements have either expired or will run out this month.

It has already granted concessions to ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Japan's INPEX, China's CNPC, Spanish Cepsa and a state-owned Indian consortium led by ONGC Videsh.

The new concessions have been offered at nearly half the duration of the old concessions, with ADNOC taking majority stake in the projects.

ADNOC aims to increase its oil production capacity from 3.2 million barrels per day to 3.5 million by the end of 2018.

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