Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013
(This article was first published on Tuesday.)
DUBAI--State-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., known as Adnoc, has sent out the invitations to pre-qualified international firms to bid for the renewal of a shared license to operate some of the emirate's largest onshore oil fields, Energy Intelligence reported Tuesday.
Adnoc delivered the packages containing information about the bidding parameters and process to pre-qualified oil companies this week, Energy Intelligence quoted industry officials as saying.
The documents give the invited companies six months to submit their proposals, it said.
The 75-year-old concession, which expires at the end of the year, produces more than half the United Arab Emirates crude production of 2.6 million barrels a day and is one of the few major oil-producing areas in the Persian Gulf where international companies hold a stake.
Adnoc holds a 60% controlling stake in Abu Dhabi Co. for Onshore Oil Operations, or Adco, which operates the concession. The remaining 40% is shared between BP PLC (BP), Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN), Total SA (TOT) and Partex Oil & Gas.
The emirate trimmed the list of companies following the pre-qualification process, which started last June when Adnoc sent letters to between 10 and 20 companies, including all existing partners except for Partex, to gauge interest in operating the fields
The list of pre-qualified companies is believed to include eight to 10 firms, the people told Energy Intelligence.
Adnoc has already proposed to Abu Dhabi's highest oil authority, the Supreme Petroleum Council, a one-year extension to the concession, saying the next 10 months aren't enough time to complete a new deal with international partners. The council is yet to approve the extension proposal.
The Adco concession, which covers six main deposits, is the largest in the country with capacity to produce about 1.5 million barrels daily. The United Arab Emirates, which includes Abu Dhabi, plans to increase its output capacity to 3.5 million barrels a day by 2017, from its current estimated maximum output capacity of around 2.85 million barrels a day.
Abu Dhabi is home to more than 90% of crude in the U.A.E., one of few Middle East countries that allow foreign companies to explore for and produce oil within its borders. The Gulf state has four major concessions and has said it may allow more foreign companies, such as from South Korea and China, to be partners in other, more marginal, oil fields.
Write to Summer Said at summer.said@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
27-03-13 0353GMT
