A consortium of four Pakistani companies led by Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), has won an exploration concession award for Offshore Block 5 in Abu Dhabi, marking the first time Pakistani companies will invest in and explore for oil and gas in an Abu Dhabi concession.
The exploration concession agreement was signed by Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Managing Director and Group CEO of Abu Dhabi's national oil firm ADNOC, and Moin Raza Khan, Managing Director and CEO of PPL.
Apart from PPL, the other three Pakistani companies in the consortium are Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL), Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), and Government Holdings (Private) Limited (GHPL).
The consortium will hold a 100% share in the exploration phase, investing up to $304.7 million (AED1.12 billion) towards exploration and appraisal drilling, including a participation fee, to explore for and appraise oil and gas opportunities in the block that covers an offshore area of 6,223 square kilometers and is located 100 kilometers northeast of Abu Dhabi city.
In case of a successful commercial discovery during the exploration phase, the consortium will have the right to a production concession to develop and produce such commercial discoveries. ADNOC has the option to hold a 60% stake in the production phase of the concession. The term of the production phase is 35 years from the start of the exploration phase.
"In addition to drilling exploration and appraisal wells, the exploration phase will see the consortium leverage and contribute financially and technically to ADNOC’s mega seismic survey, which is acquiring 3D seismic data within the block area. The data already acquired over a large part of the block combined with its proximity to existing oil and gas fields, suggests the concession area has promising potential," ADNOC said.
ADNOC launched Abu Dhabi’s second competitive block bid round in 2019, offering a set of major onshore and offshore blocks, on behalf of the Government of Abu Dhabi. The award of Offshore Block 5 to the Pakistani consortium concludes this second block bid round, ADNOC said.