Credit Risk - ExxonMobil Acquires Stake in UAE Oil Field
2006-03-28 20:13:48
Oleh: admin
March 28: Credit Risk - ExxonMobil Acquires Stake in UAE Oil Field
Author: Ellen J. Silverman
Date: 2006-03-28
ExxonMobil has acquired a stake of nearly 25 percent in a huge oil field off the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi's "Supreme Petroleum Council and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) today signed agreements with ExxonMobil Corporation and subsidiaries covering participation in (the offshore) Upper Zakum oil field," ADNOC said in a statement. According to the agreement, ExxonMobil Abu Dhabi Offshore Petroleum Company Limited gains ownership of 28 percent out of ADNOC's 88 percent equity stake in the Upper Zakum reservoirs (Zakum field).
Japan Oil Development Company will continue to hold the remaining 12 percent interest in the Zakum field, it added. The partnership, which gives ExxonMobil a 24.64 percent stake in the field, aims at increasing its production to 750,000 barrels per day (bpd). The Zakum field, one of the world's largest, currently produces around 550,000 bpd.
ExxonMobil was selected in April 2005 for the venture after submitting the best technical offer.
US and Japanese companies would retain their interests in the field until March 2026. Abu Dhabi, the largest and wealthiest of the seven emirates making up the UAE, accounts for 90 percent of the Gulf country's oil output of around 2.5 million bpd. The statement said ExxonMobil had committed to supply, support and apply cutting-edge technology to maximize ultimate recovery from Upper Zakum reservoirs.
In addition to establishing a technology center in Abu Dhabi, the US firm will "provide support for training and personnel development, including access to its world-class Upstream Training and Technology Center in Houston," the statement said.
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