Adnoc has awarded Italian oil and gas major Eni a 25 per cent stake in Abu Dhabi’s Ghasha sour gas concession, the first of what it says will be a series of agreements to be awarded for the multi-billion dollar offshore development.

The Ghasha concession, in which Adnoc holds the majority stake of 60 per cent, consists of the Hail, Ghasha, Dalma and other offshore fields.

As part of its 40-year concession agreement, Eni will bear 25 per cent of the project’s development costs.

Adnoc says it is in discussion with further potential partners, for the remaining 15 per cent of the available 40 per cent stake in Ghasha concession, earmarked for foreign oil and gas companies.

The Hail, Ghasha and Dalma ultra-sour gas project will tap into the Arab basin, which is estimated to hold multiple trillions of standard cubic feet of recoverable gas.

The project is expected to produce more than 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas a day (cf/d) when it comes on stream around the middle of the next decade.

The Ghasha Concession is expected to produce enough gas to provide electricity to more than two million homes, Adnoc says.

Once complete, the project will also produce over 120,000 barrels of oil and high value condensate per day.

In addition to developing the Ghasha Concession area, Adnoc also plans to increase production from its Shah field to 1.5 billion cf/d and move forward to develop the sour gas fields at Bab and Bu Hasa.

The awarding of the Ghasha Concession stake announcement follows the Supreme Petroleum Council’s approval of Adnoc’s new gas strategy, as part of which it has committed to a capex budget of $132bn.

Adnoc also intends to unlock other sources of gas, which include Abu Dhabi’s gas caps and unconventional gas reserves in addition to new natural gas accumulations.

Total was awarded a 40 per cent stake in Abu Dhabi’s unconventional Ruwais Diyab gas concession on 11 November, under which it will explore, appraise and develop the concession area’s gas resources.