DUBAI: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said on Sunday it had signed 40-year agreements with Eni , awarding the Italian company a 10 percent stake in its Umm Shaif and Nasr offshore oil concession and a 5 percent stake in Lower Zakum.
Eni has contributed a participation fee of 2.1 billion dirhams ($575 million) for the Umm Shaif and Nasr offshore concession and a fee of 1.1 billion dirhams for the Lower Zakum oil concession, ADNOC said in a statement.
The signing ceremony in Abu Dhabi was attended by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Italian premier Paolo Gentiloni.
“The awards mark the first time an Italian energy company has been given concession rights in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas sector,” ADNOC said in the statement.
The agreements with Eni have a term of 40 years and are backdated to March 9, 2018, ADNOC said.
“Our partnership with Eni, and other concession partners, will enable us to accelerate our growth, increase revenue and improve integration across the upstream value chain,” ADNOC Chief Executive Sultan Al-Jaber said in the statement.
Last month, a consortium led by India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), Japan’s INPEX and Spain’s Cepsa were all awarded stakes in different areas of the offshore concession.
“This is the first award by ADNOC to a major (in the offshore renewal), and shows it is looking to find a balance in its strategic partners between companies from major buyers, such as Japan and India, and IOCs (international oil companies) with technology and project delivery expertise,” said Tom Quinn, senior research analyst, Middle East Upstream, Wood Mackenzie.
The ADNOC deal also provides low-risk, long-term supply to Eni, and lays the foundation for the Italian company’s Middle East portfolio, Quinn said.
ADNOC said on Sunday it was still finalizing opportunities with potential partners for the remaining 15 percent in the Lower Zakum concession and for the remaining 30 percent stake in the Umm Shaif and Nasr concession. ADNOC will keep a 60 percent share in both concessions.
In August, ADNOC said it would split its ADMA-OPCO offshore concession into three areas — Lower Zakum, Umm Shaif and Nasr, and Sateh Al Razboot and Umm Lulu — with new terms to unlock greater value and increase opportunities for partnerships.
The existing ADMA-OPCO concession, which expired on March 8 produces around 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil and is projected to have a capacity of about 1.0 million bpd by 2021.
The original shareholders in the ADMA-OPCO included BP , and Total SA.
UAE’s ADNOC says awards Italy’s Eni stakes in new oil concessions
UAE’s ADNOC says awards Italy’s Eni stakes in new oil concessions
Boeing has 400 defense partners in Saudi Arabia
RIYADH: Boeing Saudi Arabia President Asaad Al-Jomai said the company has more than 400 defense partners in Saudi Arabia and works closely with local manufacturers such as Saudi Arabian Military Industries, or SAMI, which is leading the Kingdom’s defense localization mission.
He added: “The partnership is also active through academic and technical cooperation as Boeing is a founding partner of Al-Faisal University and has partnerships with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, or KAUST, and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology.”
Localization of industry is a key objective for companies operating in Saudi Arabia, Al-Jomai said, adding that partnerships with firms such as SAMI support the Kingdom’s goal of localizing more than 50 percent of military spending by 2030. Boeing considers itself a central partner in localization and technology transfer.
According to Al-Jomai, Boeing’s relationship with Saudi Arabia spans more than 81 years. The company currently employs more than 90 people at its Saudi headquarters and has delivered more than 170 commercial aircraft in recent years.
Defense contracts dominate operations
Boeing’s existing contracts include maintenance and technical support for advanced defense systems, most notably F-15 fighter jets, with Saudi Arabia the largest operator of the aircraft outside the US.
He added that these contracts also cover Apache attack helicopters and AH-6i aircraft, known as the “Little Bird.”
Al-Jomai said that although support agreements cover both commercial and defense sectors, defense operations currently dominate in Saudi Arabia due to the expansion in military spending. He added that long global delivery cycles for commercial aircraft have shifted technical support efforts toward servicing defense fleets already operating in the Kingdom.
According to Boeing’s website, Boeing Defense, Space & Security’s relationship with the Royal Saudi Air Force began in 1978 when Saudi Arabia selected its first fleet of F-15C/D aircraft, forming the backbone of the Kingdom’s air defense.
The fleet expanded significantly in December 2011 when Saudi Arabia and the US signed a military sales agreement — the largest in US history at the time — covering F-15SA fighter jets, AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and AH-6 light armed reconnaissance helicopters.
