Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) could consider jointly participating in the exploration and production (E&P) of gas from overseas assets, as part of their framework agreement signed recently to collaborate for potential opportunities across the gas value chain.

“Participating in E&P from gas assets in North America, Europe, Russia and Asia potentially forms one of the areas of cooperation” of the memorandum of understanding (MoU), according to a source.

Aramco and Adnoc on 12 November signed the MoU during the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (Adipec) "to explore potential opportunities for collaboration in the natural gas and liquefied natural gas [LNG] sectors."

Under the terms of the agreement, "Adnoc and Aramco will jointly assess investment opportunities across the LNG value chain that could unlock value and drive revenue growth for both companies. They will partner on techno-economic feasibility studies and exchange knowledge and experience in LNG growth markets’.

“Cooperating on gas production from overseas assets will lead to an increase in the overall gas output of both the companies, increasing their prospects of becoming net LNG exporters sooner,” the source said.

In an interview with MEED, Adnoc LNG’s acting CEO Fatima al-Nuaimi said the MoU between the two state energy giants covers cooperation both at regional and international levels.

“We all know that the LNG market is growing. We all know that the sector is offering opportunities for different players, who were earlier not present in the LNG space but are tapping into that market now. You have two big NOCs [national oil companies] who cannot watch this happening without being part of it. It just made common sense for these two big companies to get together and explore opportunities,” Al Nuaimi said.

“We are exploring business opportunities across the value chain. At this stage, we are only exploring. We have a timeline based on which we will be involving the senior management of both the companies,” she added.