Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) has awarded two offshore blocks to a consortium led by Italy’s Eni SPA and Thailand’s PTT Exploration & Production PCL following a competitive bid round.
The two blocks in the northwest of Abu Dhabi—Offshore 1 and Offshore 2—are the first to be awarded among the geographical areas that were offered for commercial bidding by ADNOC in April 2018 as part of Abu Dhabi’s first competitive open block licensing strategy (OGJ Online, Apr. 10, 2018).
Under the terms of the agreements, Eni will operate the concessions and PTTEP and Eni will both hold a 100% stake in the exploration phase, investing at least $230 million to explore for oil and gas, and appraise the existing discoveries on Offshore Block 2. Simultaneously, exploration and appraisal plans for Offshore Block 1 will be finalized. The two blocks cover 8,000 sq km.
Upon successful exploration, Eni and PTTEP will together be granted the opportunity to develop and produce any discoveries, with ADNOC retaining the option to hold a 60% stake in the production phase.
