Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has announced that the four per cent stake in its onshore concession, previously held by CEFC China Energy Company (CEFC China), has been acquired by North Petroleum International Company, a subsidiary of China ZhenHua Oil Company.

The ownership change has been approved by Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Petroleum Council, Adnoc said in a statement.

CEFC was awarded the 4 per cent share in the Adnoc Onshore concession, formerly known as Adco, in February 2017.

China ZhenHua Oil is 100 per cent indirectly owned by the Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, a Chinese-government agency that supervises and manages over a hundred state-owned assets and enterprises in a variety of sectors, including telecommunications, oil and petrochemicals and transport.

China ZhenHua Oil operates 11 oil and gas upstream projects in six countries, with a gross production of close to 10 million metric tonnes per year. It is also in the fuel storage, transportation and refining business, with a trading desk in Singapore.

China ZhenHua Oil joins the UK’s BP (10 per cent), Total of France (10 per cent), China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) (8 per cent), Inpex Corporation of Japan (5 per cent), and GS Energy of South Korea (3 per cent) as participants in the onshore concession and shareholders of Adnoc Onshore.

Adnoc retains a majority 60 per cent share in the Adnoc Onshore operated concession.