By James Mathew

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IndianOil-led consortium awarded Abu Dhabi onshore block

The Indian consortium will make an investment of $170 million for the exploration activities

By James Mathew
The agreements, which, collectively, have a term of 35 years, were signed by Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, Duraiswamy Rajkumar, chairman and managing director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation, and Sanjiv Singh, chairman of Indian Oil Corporation.
The agreements, which, collectively, have a term of 35 years, were signed by Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, Duraiswamy Rajkumar, chairman and managing director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation, and Sanjiv Singh, chairman of Indian Oil Corporation.

A consortium of Indian oil refiners and marketers led by Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil) has been awarded 100 percent stake in Abu Dhabi Onshore Block 1, marking the entry of IndianOil as an operator into the highly prospective UAE region.

The Indian consortium will make an investment of $170 million for the exploration activities.

The Abu Dhabi onshore block award is part of Abu Dhabi’s first ever competitive block bid round.

IndianOil, along with Bharat PetroResources Limited (BPRL), a subsidiary of another Indian public sector oil company, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) acted as a consortium through Urja Bharat Pte Limited to bid for the Abu Dhabi onshore exploration bloc.

“The consortium-led by IndianOil has been awarded 100 percent stake by the Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC), on behalf of the Abu Dhabi government,” IndianOil said in a communiqué to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday.

The concession award is for a term of 35 years with the effective date being 24th March, 2019.

The agreement on the concession was signed on Saturday between ADNOC and Indian Consortium, IndianOil said.

Both IndianOil and Bharat PetroResources Limited hold 50 percent stake each in the special purpose vehicle (SPV) Urja Bharat Pte Limited, which bid for the Abu Dhabi exploration bloc.

The Abu Dhabi Onshore Block 1 covers an area of 6,162 sq. km. around Ruwais field and includes already discovered but undeveloped fields.

The present acquisition of the Abu Dhabi onshore bloc is part of IndianOil’s strategic objective of adding high quality E&P assets to its existing upstream portfolio.

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