Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has agreed to a transfer of rights in its Lower Zakum and Umm Shaif and Nasr offshore concessions to a unit of China National Offshore Oil Corporation. The rights will shift from the previous holder, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).
The transfer, approved by Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Petroleum Council, marks the first time that a Chinese offshore oil and gas company has joins ADNOC’s concessions, UAE’s state-run energy firm said in a statement.
As a result, CNOOC will hold a 4 per cent interest in the Lower Zakum concession and a 4 per cent interest in the Umm Shaif and Nasr concession, while PetroChina retains a 6 per cent stake in the concessions.
The transfer also includes CNOOC buying 40 per cent in CNPC’s majority-owned subsidiary PetroChina Investment Overseas (Middle East) Ltd. (PetroChina).
Binding
The move “reflects the long-standing strategic and economic bilateral relations between the UAE and China,” UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Group CEO Sultan Al Jaber said.
“CNOOC joins our other international partners in the Lower Zakum and Umm Shaif and Nasr concessions and bring world-class expertise and technology to help us continue to maximize value from the concessions.”
This latest move follows the signing of a comprehensive framework agreement between ADNOC and CNOOC in July last year to explore new opportunities for collaboration in both the upstream and downstream sectors as well as in liquefied natural gas (LNG).
