Austrian energy firm OMV has signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) to jointly explore for oil and gas in the Eastern Region of Abu Dhabi.

The agreement, which was completed on 23 June, will see the companies carry out seismic acquisition and drill exploration wells over a four-year period. If the programme is successful, Adnoc and OMV intend to jointly develop oil and gas fields in the region.

The Eastern Region of Abu Dhabi does not contribute strongly to Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas output, with the vast majority of production coming from the emirate’s Western Region and offshore fields.

The smaller Eastern Region around Al-Ain covers an area of 13,100 square kilometres between Oman to the east, Dubai and Sharjah to the north, and the rest of Abu Dhabi to the west.

The deal complements OMV’s participation in the appraisal of the Shuwaihat sour gas and condensate field in the Western Region near Ruwais. The Austrian group is appraising Shuwaihat with Adnoc and Germany’s Wintershall.

OMV entered the Eastern Region deal through its local subsidiary OMV East Abu Dhabi Exploration. Abu Dhabi’s government-owned International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic) holds a 24.9 per cent stake in OMV and is its second largest shareholder.