Abu Dhabi, Nov 14 (AFP) The Abu Dhabi National OilCompany (ADNOC) today said it had signed an agreement with USand Japanese oil firms to extend their concessions and boostoutput at the emirate's biggest oilfield.
ADNOC said in a statement it signed the agreement with USgiant ExxonMobil and Japan's INPEX to raise output at theUpper Zakum offshore field by around 350,000 barrels per dayto one million bpd by 2024.
The agreement extended the concession of the twocompanies by a decade to end by 2051.
Located 83 kilometres northwest of Abu Dhabi, Upper Zakumis the world's fourth-largest oilfield and the second-largestoffshore, containing almost half of the United Arab Emirates'proven reserves -- nearly 100 billion barrels.
"This agreement is another milestone in our efforts toforge partnerships that bring technology, expertise andcapital aimed at delivering greater economic value and levelsof recovery from our resources," ADNOC CEO Sultan al-Jabersaid.
The agreement is part of efforts by ADNOC to push UAEproduction capacity to 3.5 million bpd from about 3.2 millionbpd currently.
Japan's INPEX began the partnership with ADNOC to developUpper Zakum in 1978. They were joined by ExxonMobil in 2006.
No financial details were given for the agreement but theongoing project is estimated to cost around USD10 billion.
ADNOC has 60 per cent of the concession, ExxonMobil 28 percent and INPEX 12 per cent.
ADNOC today also signed an agreement with a subsidiary ofChina National Petroleum Co. (CNPC) to raise the onshore Babfield's production by 30,000 bpd to 450,000 bpd by 2020.
Yesterday, ADNOC said it will float a minority stake inits petrol station subsidiary in the first privatisation ofthe totally state-owned oil sector. (AFP)SMJ.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.