Adnoc announces three new oil discoveries

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) on Thursday announced three oil discoveries that will add more than 650 million barrels of oil to the country’s hydrocarbon reserves.

In a statement, the Abu Dhabi-based group said the 500 million barrels of oil were discovered at Bu Hasa, Abu Dhabi’s biggest onshore field, with a crude oil production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day (bpd).

The second oil find was in Abu Dhabi’s Onshore Block 3, operated by Occidental, with around 100 million barrels of oil in place.

“In the third discovery, around 50 million barrels of light and sweet Murban-quality crude were found in Al Dhafra Petroleum Concession,” according to the Adnoc statement.

Adnoc produces almost all of the UAE’s oil and is spending billions of dollars on multiple development projects as it aims to expand its crude output capacity to five million barrels per day (bpd) by 2030, up from the existing four million bpd.

Energy analysts and market experts said these additional reserves will be ‘a sizeable boost’ to the UAE’s hydrocarbon reserves base standing well above 111 billion barrels of oil and 289 trillion standard cf of natural gas.

Earlier this year, Adnoc had announced a sizeable gas discovery in the Offshore Block 2 exploration concession operated by Italy’s Eni. Adnoc had said that the interim results from the block’s first exploration well indicated between 1.5 trillion and 2 trillion cubic feet of raw gas in place in multiple good quality reservoirs of the Jurassic exploration targets.

In December last, there was confirmation of a discovery of up to one billion barrels of oil equivalent (BBOE) at Onshore Block 4 Exploration Concession, which is operated by the Japanese combine INPEX/JODCO (Japan Oil Development Company).

Adnoc board reviews strategic targets

The oil discoveries were disclosed at the Adnoc board of directors meeting chaired by Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office.

During the meeting, held at Adnoc headquarters in Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled reviewed Adnoc’s performance and strategic targets and commended the company’s expanded approach to strategic partnerships, which have helped lead to new discoveries of oil, including a new find at Bu Hasa, Abu Dhabi’s biggest onshore field with a crude oil production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day (mbpd).

“The 500 million barrels of oil discovered from an exploration well in the Bu Hasa field has unlocked a new formation within the field, offering substantial additional premium-grade Murban oil resources. Bu Hasa is part of the Adnoc Onshore Concession and is operated by Adnoc Onshore,” according to the statement issued by Adnoc.

In Abu Dhabi’s Onshore Block 3, operated by Occidental, around 100 million barrels of oil in place were discovered, marking the second oil find in this concession. Occidental was awarded the exploration rights for Onshore Block 3 in early 2019.

“Around 50 million barrels of light and sweet Murban-quality crude was also discovered in the Al Dhafra Petroleum Concession, operated by Al Dhafra Petroleum, a joint venture between Adnoc, the Korea National Oil Company (KNOC) and GS Energy,” the statement said.

Adnoc spending

— muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com