Total secures stake in Abu Dhabi onshore oil concession

The Government of Abu Dhabi and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) have selected Total as the first partner in a 40-year concession for several of the country’s onshore oil fields.

The agreement with the Supreme Petroleum Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (UAE) and ADNOC gives Total a 10% stake in the new concession.

The Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Petroleum Operations Limited (ADCO) will operate the new concession, which covers the fifteen principal onshore oil fields and represents over half of the Emirate’s production.

ADCO is a new operating company in which Total will hold a 10% stake.

Total will also serve as asset leader for the Bu Hasa and Southeast fields, which account for around two-thirds of ADCO’s production.

Production from the fields is expected to reach 1.6 million barrels a day in 2015 and 1.8 million from 2017.

Total chief executive officer Patrick Pouyanné said: "Total’s entry into the new ADCO concession is a major milestone in the history of the Group’s 75-year partnership with the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

"We are committed to bringing our most advanced technological expertise to unlock the full production potential of Abu Dhabi’s onshore fields and therefore contribute to the development of additional reserves over the next 40 years."

Total, which has been operating in the UAE since 1939, produced 260,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2013.

The company held a 9.5% interest in the earlier 75-year ADCO concession that expired on 10 January 2014.

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Image: Total will serve as asset leader for the Bu Hasa and Southeast fields. Photo: Courtesy of Total.