Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has awarded 10 per cent interest in its new Lower Zakum offshore concession to a consortium of Indian energy companies.

The consortium, which is led by India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and includes Indian Oil and Bharat PetroResources, has been awarded a 10 per cent stake in the Lower Zakum Concession, with a participation fee of AED2.2bn ($599m).

Lower Zakum is one of three new separate concession areas that previously made up the former ADMA offshore concession. The 10 per cent stake for the Indian consortium is the first to be awarded for the three new concessions, with 30 per cent of the Lower Zakum concession still to be awarded. Adnoc will retain a 60 per cent stake in all three of the new concessions.

The 40-year agreement will come into effect on March 9 2018.

The deal marks the first time that the emirate has awarded a stake in a concession to an Indian group. India currently imports about 8 per cent of its total hydrocarbons supply from Abu Dhabi.

Expanding production from offshore fields is part of Adnoc’s plans to increase its onshore and offshore production capacity to 3.5 million barrels a day by the end of 2018. The oil company currently produces about 3 million barrels  day.