UK oil major BP was not invited in June to bid for Abu Dhabi’s major onshore oil concession, according to the head of state owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc).

Last week, BP said it was still in talks with Adnoc over the renewing its partnership in the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Operations (Adco) concession, which expires in 2014.

“They did not receive an invitation. They were not on the list,” Adnoc director general Abdulla Nasser al-Suwaidi told reporters at the UAE port of Fujairah on 16 July, according to Bloomberg. “We had a big list, and we sent them all.”

BP’s role in the bidding was placed in doubt when Petroleum Intelligence weekly reported that the UK group was left of the list, which included other existing partners ExxonMobil, Shell and Total.   

On 9 June, BP released a statement saying that “constructive discussions are happening on all levels”.

Adnoc holds a 60 per cent stake in Adco, with BP, ExxonMobil, Shell and Total each owning 9.5 per cent and Portugal’s Partex Oil and Gas the remaining 2 per cent. Adco accounts for almost 60 per cent of the UAE’s total daily crude output.