Abu Dhabi awards onshore oil concession to second Chinese group

20 February 2017

CEFC awarded final stake for overseas companies as Abu Dhabi reaches 40 per cent target

CEFC China Energy Company has been awarded a 4 per cent interest in Abu Dhabi’s onshore oil-producing concession, completing the 40 per cent equity available to overseas companies.

State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), which holds the 60 per cent majority stake in the joint venture, received a sign-up bonus of AED3.3bn ($888m) from the Chinese group.

The agreement to enter Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Petroleum Operations (Adco) is backdated to January 2015 and will be in place for 40 years.

“This agreement enhances our ability to integrate Adnoc’s onshore oil reserves with our storage facilities in China and Southeast Asia,” said CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming.

“By building an energy corridor, linking China, the Middle East and Europe, we can connect the Chinese market with the upstream resources of Abu Dhabi and the terminals in Europe,” he added.

On 19 February Adnoc announced it had awarded an 8 per cent stake in Adco to China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

The completed joint venture is now comprised of: Adnoc (60 per cent); France’s Total (10 per cent); UK-based BP (10 per cent); CNPC (8 per cent); Japan’s Inpex (5 per cent); CEFC (4 per cent); and South Korea’s GS Energy (3 per cent).

The Adco concession covers several fields including Bu Hasa, Bab and Asab, and has an estimated production capacity of about 1.8 million barrels a day (b/d) of oil. Associated gas from these fields is processed by Abu Dhabi Gas Industries (Gasco).

CEFC China owns a controlling stake in Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company KazMunayGas International and has energy investments in China, Africa, Europe and the Asia-Pacific Region.

It has built large-scale oil storage bases in China and owns trans-shipment terminals and gas stations in France, Spain, Romania and various countries around the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It also organises an oil reserve exchange mechanism integrating oil reserves in Europe, the Middle East and China.

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