Italy's Eni SpA and Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Pcl secured rights to explore for oil and natural gas in Abu Dhabi from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), following Abu Dhabi’s first competitive block licensing round.
A tweet from Adnoc said, "We’re pleased to announce that Adnoc has signed two historic agreements, awarding two offshore exploration blocks to a consortium led by Italy’s Eni and Thailand’s PTTEP, following a competitive bid round among numerous international energy companies."
The two blocks in the northwest of Abu Dhabi – Offshore 1 and Offshore 2 – are the first blocks to be awarded among the geographical areas that were offered for commercial bidding by Adnoc, in April 2018, as part of Abu Dhabi’s first competitive open block licensing strategy.
According to the company sources, under the terms of the agreements, Eni will operate the concessions and PTTEP and Eni will both hold a 100% stake in the exploration phase, investing at least AED 844 million (US $230 million) to explore for oil and gas, and appraise the existing discoveries in Offshore Block 2.
At the same time, the exploration and appraisal plans for the Offshore Block 1 will be finalized. The two blocks cover a combined area of approximately 8,000 square kilometers.
Eni last year won rights to produce at an adjacent offshore field.