India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and a consortium of other firms has signed a deal with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) for a 40 year offshore oil concession to pump oil from part of the Lower Zakum offshore field, according to a statement released by ADNOC.
ONGC has paid around $600mn for a 10% stake in the concession. ADNOC presently operates 60% of the field, while 30% of it remains to be allocated.
Lower Zakum is one of three separate areas that make up the former ADMA offshore concession. The deal was penned in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on a visit to the UAE, and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Speaking about the deal, Minister of State and ADNOC CEO Dr Sultan Al Jaber said, “This strategic partnership with ONGC and the other members of the consortium, will help India meet its growing demand for energy and refined products, and create opportunities for ADNOC to increase its market share in a key growth market.”
ADNOC plans to raise its oil production to 3.5mn barrels per days (bpd) by the end of the year. The Zakum field currently generates 400,000 bpd.
The Indian consortium in the deal is made up of ONGC’s wholly owned subsidiary ONGC Videsh, the Indian Oil Company and Bharat PetroResources, a 100% subsidiary of Bharat Petroleum.
