Abu Dhabi: French company Total has won a ten per cent stake in developing oilfields in Abu Dhabi as part of oil concessions, the company announced on Thursday.

Total signed the agreement with the Supreme Council of the emirate of Abu Dhabi and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) for a period of 40 years starting from January 1 this year.

The concession covers the fifteen principal onshore oilfields of Abu Dhabi and represents more than half of the Emirate’s production.

“Total’s entry into the new Adco concession is a major milestone in the history of the Group’s 75-year partnership with the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. We are committed to bringing our most advanced technological expertise to unlock the full production potential of Abu Dhabi’s onshore fields and therefore contribute to the development of additional reserves over the next 40 years,” outlined Patrick Pouyanné, Chief Executive Officer of Total.

“Total is honoured to be the first International Oil Company to be chosen by the government of Abu Dhabi and Adnoc to participate in this new onshore concession and to be entrusted with the mission of technical leader on two major groups of fields”.

The new concession will be operated by the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Petroleum Operations Limited (Adco), a new operating company in which Total will be a 10 per cent shareholder.

Total has also been appointed Asset Leader for the Bu Hasa and Southeast (Sahil, Asab, Shah, Qusahwira and Mender fields) fields, which represent about two-thirds of Adco’s production, the company said.

In 2015, Adco’s expected production is around 1.6 million barrels of oil per day (bpd), with an objective to increase output to 1.8 million bpd from 2017.

Total has been present in the UAE since 1939 and has built a strong presence. The Group’s equity production in 2013 was 260,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Total held a 9.5 per cent interest in the previous 75-year Adco concession that expired on January 10, 2014.

The news comes amid falling oil prices due to oversupply and record shale production from the US.

Shell which also bid for the concessions refused to comment when contacted.

The UAE, which holds about six per cent of global oil reserves is intending to increase the production capacity to 3.5 million barrels of oil per day by 2017 from the present capacity of around 2.8 million barrels of oil per day.

The UAE Minister of Energy, Suhail Mohammad Al Mazroui, said earlier this week that the country would continue to invest in the energy sector despite low prices.

“For us here in the UAE, we are a major oil producer and our investments are intact to make sure that our stand as major oil producer stays in future,” Mazroui said at an energy related conference in Abu Dhabi.

Before the expiry of its concession, Adco operated a joint venture between state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (Adnoc), holding a 60-per cent stake on the one hand, and ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Total, each with a 9.5-per cent share, and Partex Oil & Gas, with 2 per cent, on the other. Adco’s concession covers a collection of onshore fields in Abu Dhabi that together account for around 40 per cent of the country’s 2.8 million barrels a day oil production. Adnoc is also set to announce plans in the near future for its offshore concessions that expire in 2018.

A number of companies including oil firms from China and Japan are bidding for Abu Dhabi oil concessions. Adnoc is expected to announce other bid winners in the coming days.

In partnership with Adnoc, Total holds a 75 per cent stake and operates the Abu Al Bu Khoosh field and holds a 13.3 per cent stake in Abu Dhabi Marine (Adma), which operates two offshore fields. It is also active in other projects in Abu Dhabi.