OMV and ADNOC signed Upstream concession agreement for a 5% stake in a mega project offshore UAE
His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, and Dr. Rainer Seele, Chairman of the OMV Executive Board and CEO, signed a concession agreement awarding OMV with a 5% interest in the Gasha concession comprising the Ghasha mega project.
The concession is located offshore Abu Dhabi and consists of three major gas and condensate development projects Hail, Ghasha and Dalma as well as other offshore oil, gas and condensate fields including Nasr, SARB and Mubarraz. The long term concession agreement with a term of 40 years (from November 2018) strengthens OMV’s position in Abu Dhabi and its cooperation with ADNOC.
Dr. Rainer Seele, Chairman of the OMV Executive Board and CEO: “We are pleased to be awarded a stake in the largest sour gas and condensate fields in Abu Dhabi and to strengthen our partnership with ADNOC. We are confident that our technological expertise will contribute to value creation and profitable growth, for all partners involved. Today’s signature marks a long-term commitment and it is another important step in the successful implementation of our strategy 2025. With this agreement, we are expanding our already material position in the Middle East and are further shifting our upstream production towards gas.”
His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO: “This long-term strategic agreement with OMV, as well as the other Ghasha concession agreements we have concluded recently, underscores ADNOC’s commitment to maximizing value from Abu Dhabi’s substantial gas resources and to ensuring a sustainable and economic supply of gas, in line with the leadership’s directives. The combination of rising demand for gas, more advanced technology and our industry leading experience in developing sour gas fields, makes it possible for us to commercially and holistically unlock value from our vast sour gas resources. This agreement builds on, and extends, our strong partnership with OMV who we collaborate with in key areas across the oil and gas value chain. They bring extensive experience in sour gas operations, in Austria and Pakistan, and like ADNOC have a proven record working with mature and complex reservoirs. It will help ensure our investment, in the Ghasha concession, will maximize long-term returns for the benefit of ourselves, our partners and the nation.”
OMV has a long-lasting experience in the treatment of sour gas. In 2016 OMV was awarded a four year seismic, drilling and engineering work programme to explore and appraise oil and gas fields in the North-West Offshore Abu Dhabi area that includes the Ghasha and Hail blocks. This cooperation gave OMV in-depth knowledge and confidence in the success of the high potential Ghasha mega project.
According to ADNOC’s planning, the project will start producing around the middle of next decade. The fields are expected to produce at plateau at least 1.5 bn cubic feet per day (40 mn cbm), as well as over 120 kboe/d of oil and high value condensate (gross). The greenfield development includes, beside the drilling of development wells, the construction of offshore and onshore treatment, processing and transportation facilities for natural gas, condensate, crude oil and sulphur. The final investment decision for the first fields to contribute to the production target is planned to be completed next year.
According to its 5% stake OMV will contribute to the past investments incurred by ADNOC in this concession. ADNOC’s other project partners are ENI and Wintershall, with a 25% stake and 10%, respectively, who have entered into the concession in November 2018.
Background information:
OMV Aktiengesellschaft
OMV produces and markets oil and gas, innovative energy and high-end petrochemical solutions – in a responsible way. With Group sales of EUR 20 bn and a workforce of around 20,700 employees in 2017, OMV Aktiengesellschaft is one of Austria’s largest listed industrial companies. In Upstream, OMV has a strong base in Romania and Austria and a balanced international portfolio, with the North Sea, the Middle East & Africa and Russia as further core regions. 2017 daily production stood at approximately 348,000 boe/d. In Downstream, OMV operates three refineries with a total annual processing capacity of 17.8 mn tons and more than 2,000 filling stations in ten countries. OMV runs gas storage facilities in Austria and Germany; its subsidiary Gas Connect Austria GmbH operates a gas pipeline network in Austria. In 2017, gas sales volumes amounted to around 113 TWh. Sustainability is an integral part of the corporate strategy. OMV is set to invest EUR 500 mn in innovative energy solutions by 2025.