Dubai: The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has confirmed the discovery of natural gas resources offshore Abu Dhabi. Early results from the first exploration well in Abu Dhabi’s Offshore Block 2 Exploration Concession - operated by Eni - indicate between 1.5–2 trillion standard cubic feet (TSCF) of raw gas in place.
This discovery marks the first from Abu Dhabi’s offshore exploration concessions. A consortium led by Italian energy major Eni and Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production Public Company ltd (PTTEP) was awarded the exploration rights for Offshore Block 2 in 2019 as part of ADNOC’s debut competitive block bid round.
In December last, there was confirmation of a discovery of up to 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BBOE) at Onshore Block 4 Exploration Concession, which is operated by the Japanese combine INPEX/JODCO (Japan Oil Development Co.).
The new gas discovery was "enabled by new insights from the world’s largest combined onshore and offshore three-dimensional (3D) mega seismic survey underway in Abu Dhabi".
"The discovery of material natural gas resources in Offshore Block 2 underscores how ADNOC’s expanded approach to strategic partnerships is enabling us to accelerate the exploration and development of Abu Dhabi’s untapped hydrocarbon resources and create long-term value for the UAE," said Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO.
"We congratulate our valued partners - Eni and PTTEP - on this achievement and we look forward to continuing to work with all our strategic partners to sustainably unlock Abu Dhabi’s hydrocarbon resources and stay ahead of the world’s growing demand for lower-carbon energy.”
Going deeper
Drilling operations continue to head deeper formations to "fully unlock the resource volume" in Offshore Block 2 and "further explore the promising potential" as well as across Offshore Blocks 1 and 3 exploration concession areas, which were also awarded to Eni and PTTEP.
ADNOC launched Abu Dhabi’s first and second competitive block bid rounds in 2018 and 2019, which offered a set of major onshore and offshore blocks to a roster of international companies, on behalf of Abu Dhabi Government. Based on existing data, estimates suggest these blocks hold multiple billion barrels of oil and multiple trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
“The positive interim results recorded by our partners - Eni and PTTEP - in the exploration of Offshore Block 2 follows the recent significant discovery in Onshore Block 4," said Yaser Saeed Almazrouei, ADNOC's Upstream Executive Director. "Both discoveries leveraged insights from ADNOC’s ongoing 3D mega seismic survey, underpinning the important role the survey is playing for us and our strategic partners to help identify new hydrocarbon resources across Abu Dhabi.”
