Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) on Sunday signed a $1.5 billion offshore concession deal with Austria's OMV, the UAE firm said in a statement.The 40-year deal to develop SARB and Umm Lulu offshore oilfield is the latest in a series of contracts with foreign oil companies to develop three offshore oilfields with the aim of boosting their output.The other fields are Lower Zakum and Umm Shaif and Nasr.
ADNOC has already signed concession contracts with France's Total, Italy's ENI, Japan's INPEX and China's CNPC in addition to Spain's CEPSA and an Indian consortium led by ONGC Videsh, raising some $8 billion in participation fees, the statement said.
The deals also guarantee secure markets for around 40 percent of Abu Dhabi oil output which currently stands at 2.8 million barrels per day, ADNOC said.ADNOC has been vying to expand its output capacity from 3.2 million bpd currently to 3.5 million bpd by the end of 2018.
Earlier this month, it invited bids for exploration contracts for six major blocks with untapped reserves of oil and gas.ADNOC said the blocks are estimated to hold billions of barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas.Home to more than 90 percent of United Arab Emirates (UAE) oil, Abu Dhabi is auctioning off licences in its blocks for the first time.
ADNOC wants to double its refining capacity, currently at around 800,000 bpd, and tripple its petrochemicals production.
Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR and BP have signed a new production sharing agreement (PSA) for the joint exploration and development of Block D230 in the North Absheron basin in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea, BP Azerbaijan said in a message on April 26.
The PSA was signed by SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev and BP’s Group Chief Executive Bob Dudley in the presence of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and UK Prime Minister Theresa May in London.
Abdullayev, addressing the ceremony, said that Azerbaijan has a long tradition of successful cooperation with BP.
“I believe that the synergies between modern upstream technology and unique historical experience, embodied at both companies, create a solid foundation for our continued success. Being based on fair and equal conditions, today’s agreement will become an important milestone in the pursuit of the highest degree of efficiency in the joint development of the hydrocarbon resources of Azerbaijan," he said.
Dudley, for his part, said that this agreement underpins a new joint effort by SOCAR and BP to explore further Caspian opportunities in support of long-term production in Azerbaijan.
"We have now been operating in the region for more than 25 years and believe there is still significant oil and gas potential there. We look forward to continuing to build on our significant business in Azerbaijan, working closely with SOCAR and others to explore and help secure the Caspian’s future for decades to come," he said.
Block D230 lies some 135 kilometers (84 miles) north-east of Baku in the Caspian Sea. It covers an area of some 3,200 square kilometers and has not previously been explored. It has water depths of 400-600 meters and anticipated reservoir depths of about 3,500 meters.
Under the PSA, which is for 25 years, BP will be the operator during the exploration phase holding a 50 percent interest, while SOCAR will hold the remaining 50 percent interest.The signing of the PSA follows the Memorandum of Understanding for exploration of Block D230, which was agreed in May 2016.
The operations to install Norway’s largest pipeline to the Johan Sverdrup field started outside Mongstad, north of Bergen, late last week onboard the vessel Saipem Castorone.
Soon the tip of the first pipe of what will become Norway’s longest and largest oil pipeline will be pulled into the Mongstad terminal, north of Bergen. The 36 in. pipeline which will extend more than 280 km out to the Johan Sverdrup field once installed, is being pulled through a pre-drilled hole at the bottom of the Fensfjord into the oil terminal. When the Johan Sverdrup field produces at peak up to 660 000 boe/d will flow into Mongstad.
“The Castorone is now inititating pipelaying operations in the Fensfjord. The vessel will lay as much as 36 000 pipes – in total more than 400 km – when installing the oil and gas export pipelines for the Johan Sverdrup project. Assuming everything goes according to plan, the oil pipeline will reach the Johan Sverdrup field in July,” says Geir Bjaanes, responsible for subsea, power and pipelines for the Johan Sverdrup project.
The costs for phase 1 of the Johan Sverdrup development have been reduced by more than NOK 35 billion (approximately US$4.4 billion) since the plan for development and operation was approved by Norwegian authorities. Of this, NOK 1.2 billion in savings come from rerouting the pipeline through the Fensfjord.
The original plan was to route the pipeline onshore 10 km from the oil terminal. At the time, it was not assessed as technically feasible to lay the pipe through the Fensfjord due to other existing pipelines in the area and possible subsurface instability.
Statoil commissioned a study in 2015 which showed that a subsea pipeline route was possible as long as infill support for existing pipelines was in place. After thorough preparations, the conditions have been put in place for the pipelaying operations now underway.
“We have spent many years with Saipem planning these operations. At the same time, we’re all very aware of the size of the task that we have ahead, with several months at sea with a significant installation scope before we reach the Johan Sverdrup field. The key is to follow the thorough plans that we’ve prepared and maintain our significant focus on HSE along the way,” says Lars Trodal, Project Manager for the Johan Sverdrup export pipelines.
Iraq awarded contracts for just over half of the energy deposits offered in an auction that failed to attract bids from most of the big oil companies that initially expressed interest.
Crescent Petroleum Co. of the United Arab Emirates, China’s Geo-Jade Petroleum Corp. and United Energy Group, with headquarters in Hong Kong, won contracts at the auction in Baghdad attended by Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaibi. Exxon Mobil Corp., Total SA, Zarubezhneft OAO, Lukoil PJSC and Gazprom PJSC decided not to bid, Abdul Mahdy Al-Ameedi, director-general for upstream oil contracts, said at the bidding event, without giving a reason.
The auction is Iraq’s fifth since 2009 intended to draw new investment and boost oil and gas production. The country holds the world’s fifth-largest crude reserves, according to data from BP Plc, and is the second-largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. It pumped 4.43 million barrels of crude a day in March, data compiled by Bloomberg show, and intends to boost capacity to 6 million barrels a day by 2020.
Crescent Petroleum was awarded development and production contracts for the Gilabat and Qumar gas fields, with a remuneration of 9.21 percent net profit to the company, the lowest of all bids, al-Luaibi said. Its contract for the Khashim Ahmar and Injana gas fields has a remuneration of 19.99 percent, and its third agreement covers the Khider Al-Mai block in southern Iraq, with a remuneration rate of 13.75 percent.
Blocks that didn’t get any offers are Zurbatia and Shihabi on the border with Iran and Fao and Jabal Sanam on the Kuwait border. Zurbatia and Shihabi were operating fields during the Iraq-Iran war and the area is now polluted and possibly contains buried explosives, al-Ameedi said. The possibility of sanctions being reimposed against Iran by the U.S. may also have discouraged bidding for those blocks, he said.
Geo-Jade won energy rights at the Huwaiza field in the southern Missan province, with a 7.15 percent remuneration rate, according to al-Ameedi. United Energy Group got the Sindbad field, in the southern Basra province, with a remuneration rate of 4.55 percent, he said.
ARO Drilling has won four contracts from Saudi Aramco for Rowan jack-up rigs.
The company, a joint venture between the Saudi Arabian firm and U.S-based Rowan, says each contract is for a three-year term.
ARO will lease the EXL I, EXL IV, Bess Brants and Earnest Dees rigs for the work in the Kingdom.
Work for the EXL I and EXL IV is expected to start in Q3 of this year, and late 2018 or early next year for the Bess Brants and Earnest Dees.
Tom Burke, president and chief executive of Rowan, said: “Our partnership with Saudi Aramco in ARO Drilling and our operational track record in the Middle East have paved the way for these awards.
“We are pleased with this significant addition to our backlog.
“We believe these awards demonstrate the value ARO Drilling will create over the coming years.”
Italian energy giant Eni will remain in Cyprus to explore for oil and gas offshore despite Turkish moves to block the attempts, Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi said.
Descalzi spoke after the firm had to abandon scheduled drilling for oil and gas south of Cyprus in February because Turkey said it was holding military exercises in the area, Reuters reported.
“We will try and try again until somebody will be tired,” he said , according to the semi-official Cyprus News Agency.
Turkey is objecting fiercely to attempts by companies such as Eni and ExxonMobil to drill off Cyprus, saying the Turkish Cypriot north of the island, recognised as a legitimate government only by Ankara, should be part of the process and share revenues. Greek Cypriot authorities say the north will receive money should the ethnically divided island be reunited.
Eni has invested about 700 million euros in Cyprus, showing “strong engagement and commitment towards the country,” Descalzi said.Cyprus has vowed to push on with attempts to exploit its natural resources, backed by the European Union and the United States.
The island has been divided into Greek and Turkish enclaves since Turkey invaded in 1974 in response to a Greek Cypriot coup backed by Athens and the abuse of the Turkish minority.