Eric Watkins
OGJ Oil Diplomacy Editor
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 11 -- Abu Dhabi's Supreme Petroleum Council has signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi Oil Co. Ltd. (Japan) (ADOC), a unit of Cosmo Oil Co. Ltd., for a 30-year renewal of existing concessions for three oil-producing fields and a 100% interest in another exploratory area.
The new concession agreement covers three existing fields—Mubarraz, Umm Al Anbar, and Neewat Al Ghalan—and an additional exploratory concession area: Hail field, ADOC noted.
Hail field lies adjacent to ADOC’s existing operating fields and includes undeveloped reservoirs, with the maximum oil production from these reservoirs anticipated to be similar to the current production rate of the existing oil fields, ADOC said.
Analyst IHS Global Insight noted Abu Dhabi is staying with a long-term partner instead of moving to a new one—something that Cosmo had counted on.
“Cosmo Oil has specialized in getting to know the three particular mature reservoirs well over a long period of time, making new competition relatively unbeneficial and of marginal value,” the analyst said.
In Tokyo, after the agreements were signed, a Cosmo official told a press conference the three existing fields were currently producing a total of 24,000 b/d of oil. He said Hail field is expected to come online in 5-6 years, with production expected to reach 20,000 bo/d.
The new concession is 100% owned by ADOC. Cosmo Oil owns 63% of ADOC, with JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corp. holding 31.5% and the remaining 5.5% shared by Tokyo Electric Power Co., Kansai Electric Power, and Chubu Electric Power. The government of Abu Dhabi owns 20% of Cosmo Oil.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].
File photo from PDVSA..
Photo from Odfjell Drilling.
