Adnoc awarded exploration rights for an offshore block to a Pakistani consortium for $304.7 million, marking the first-ever deal with energy companies from the South Asian nation.
The Abu Dhabi company awarded the rights to Offshore Block 5 to a consortium led by Pakistan Petroleum Limited, or PPL, which includes Mari Petroleum Company Limited, the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited and Government Holdings (Private) Limited.
The award, the first granted to a Pakistani consortium, is part of Abu Dhabi’s second competitive bid round. The term of the contract is for 35 years from the start of exploration, with the "potential" to create significant inflows of in-country value for the UAE economy, Adnoc said on Tuesday.
The value of the contract covers exploration, appraisal drilling and a participation fee.
"This historic exploration concession award marks a new chapter of energy co-operation in the 50-year old UAE-Pakistan relationship," said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and managing director and group chief executive of Adnoc.
"It represents an important platform upon which we can drive win-win opportunities to support Pakistan’s energy security and further strengthen the strategic and economic ties between our two countries."
The UAE is Opec's third-largest oil producer, accounting for 5.6 per cent of all proven reserves worldwide.
In 2019, Adnoc launched a second competitive bid round for hydrocarbons, offering unconventional reserves for the first time in a bid to attract international oil companies to explore for oil and gas.
The licensing round includes five blocks stretching across an area of about 34,000 square kilometres.
Pakistan, an important buyer of crude products and gas in South Asia, registered growth of 2.9 per cent in its primary energy consumption between 2009 and 2019 and accounted for 0.6 per cent of the world's energy consumption in 2020, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy.
"This award is not only a watershed moment for Pakistan and the emirate of Abu Dhabi towards bilateral energy co-operation and economic links but also offers an opportunity to strengthen strategic co-operation with Adnoc to share technical know-how and expertise," said Moin Raza Khan, managing director and chief executive of PPL.
The agreement with the Pakistani consortium is part of Adnoc's partnership model towards developing upstream concessions. The company has involved partners from key growth markets to become developers of its oil and gas projects, locking in supply for the foreseeable future.
The Pakistani consortium will hold a 100 per cent stake in the exploration phase of the concession, which is located 100 kilometres north-east of Abu Dhabi city and covers an offshore area of 6,223 square kilometres.
If the consortium makes a successful commercial discovery, Adnoc reserves the option to hold a 60 per cent interest in the production phase of the concession.
Dr Al Jaber said the partners are "optimistic" about "the potential to unlock significant value" from the hydrocarbon exploration in the second competitive bid round.
The Pakistani consortium will also contribute financially and technically to the Abu Dhabi company's mega-seismic study.
"The data already acquired over a large part of the block, combined with its proximity to existing oil and gasfields, suggests the concession area has promising potential," Adnoc said.
PPL contributes to 20 per cent of Pakistan's natural gas supplies and operates 15 fields across the South Asian nation.
As part of the second competitive bid round, Adnoc awarded onshore exploration rights to US company Occidental Petroleum.
The company also awarded offshore rights to Japan's Cosmo Energy, Italy's Eni and Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production Public Company as part of the second licensing round.
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe
Price, base: Dh201,153
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 204hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 300Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
WWE Super ShowDown results
Seth Rollins beat Baron Corbin to retain his WWE Universal title
Finn Balor defeated Andrade to stay WWE Intercontinental Championship
Shane McMahon defeated Roman Reigns
Lars Sullivan won by disqualification against Lucha House Party
Randy Orton beats Triple H
Braun Strowman beats Bobby Lashley
Kofi Kingston wins against Dolph Zigggler to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Mansoor Al Shehail won the 50-man Battle Royal
The Undertaker beat Goldberg
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Wydad 2 Urawa 3
Wydad Nahiri 21’, Hajhouj 90'
Urawa Antonio 18’, 60’, Kashiwagi 26’
South Africa's T20 squad
Duminy (c), Behardien, Dala, De Villiers, Hendricks, Jonker, Klaasen (wkt), Miller, Morris, Paterson, Phangiso, Phehlukwayo, Shamsi, Smuts.
The%C2%A0specs%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5-litre%2C%20twin-turbo%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E410hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E495Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Estarts%20from%20Dh495%2C000%20(Dh610%2C000%20for%20the%20F-Sport%20launch%20edition%20tested)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Duminy's Test career in numbers
Tests 46; Runs 2,103; Best 166; Average 32.85; 100s 6; 50s 8; Wickets 42; Best 4-47
Game Of Thrones Season Seven: A Bluffers Guide
Want to sound on message about the biggest show on television without actually watching it? Best not to get locked into the labyrinthine tales of revenge and royalty: as Isaac Hempstead Wright put it, all you really need to know from now on is that there’s going to be a huge fight between humans and the armies of undead White Walkers.
The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.
Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years.
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
Mubalada World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
