Adnoc makes significant offshore gas discovery

Interim results indicate the presence of up to 2 trillion standard cubic feet of raw gas in Abu Dhabi’s Offshore Block 2

The gas discovery is the first from Abu Dhabi’s offshore concessions. Photo: Adnoc

Adnoc announced the discovery of significant natural gas resources of up to 2 trillion standard cubic feet off Abu Dhabi's coast.

Interim results from the first exploration well in Abu Dhabi’s Offshore Block 2 Exploration Concession, which is operated by Italy’s Eni, indicate the presence of between 1.5 to 2 trillion standard cf of raw gas, Adnoc said on Thursday.

This is the first discovery from Abu Dhabi’s offshore exploration concessions, the company said.

A consortium led by Eni and PTT Exploration and Production Public Company (PTTEP) was awarded the exploration rights for Offshore Block 2 in 2019 as part of Abu Dhabi’s debut competitive block bid round.

“The discovery of material natural gas resources in Offshore Block 2 underscores how Adnoc’s expanded approach to strategic partnerships is enabling us to accelerate the exploration and development of Abu Dhabi’s untapped hydrocarbon resources and create long-term value for the UAE,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Adnoc managing director and group chief executive.

“We congratulate our valued partners, Eni and PTTEP, on this achievement and we look forward to continuing to work with all our strategic partners to sustainably unlock Abu Dhabi’s hydrocarbon resources and stay ahead of the world’s growing demand for lower-carbon energy.”

Offshore Block 2 covers an area of 4,033 square kilometres north-west of Abu Dhabi. The discovery in the block is a result of new insights from the world’s largest combined onshore and offshore three-dimensional (3D) mega seismic survey currently under way in Abu Dhabi, Adnoc said.

This is the second major hydrocarbons discovery Adnoc has announced in less than a month.

The state-controlled oil and gas company last month said it discovered significant conventional oil, condensate and gas resources of up to 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent from an exploration well in Abu Dhabi’s onshore Block 4 concession.

The block is operated by Japan's Inpex Corporation and the discovery includes substantial Murban oil resources, Adnoc said in a statement at the time.

Adnoc launched Abu Dhabi’s first and second competitive block bid rounds in 2018 and 2019 respectively, offering a set of major onshore and offshore blocks to international companies.

Based on existing data from detailed petroleum system studies, seismic surveys, exploration and appraisal wells data, estimates suggest the blocks hold several billions of oil barrels and several trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Adnoc aims to remain one of the lowest-cost producers and lowest carbon emitters in the oil and gas industry even as it increases its crude production capacity.

The Abu Dhabi producer, which accounts for most of the UAE's hydrocarbon reserves and oil and gas production, aims to help the country achieve self-sufficiency. It also plans to expand its downstream business and strengthen trading capabilities.

The company plans to raise its output capacity to 5 million barrels per day by 2030 and has awarded a number of contracts to different companies to achieve the target.

In December, Adnoc awarded exploration rights for the 11,660-square kilometre Abu Dhabi Offshore Block 3 to a consortium led by subsidiaries of Eni and PTTEP.

The companies will invest up to Dh1.51 billion ($412 million) including a participation fee to explore and appraise oil and gas opportunities in the block.

In December, Adnoc's board also approved plans to spend Dh466bn between 2022 and 2026 to boost its upstream production capacity and downstream business, and make further investments to grow its low-carbon fuels business and pursue clean energy ambitions.

At the same time, Adnoc also announced a "significant" increase of 4 billion stock-tank barrels of oil and 16 trillion standard cf of natural gas in national reserves.

These additional reserves increase the UAE’s hydrocarbon reserves base to 111 billion barrels of oil and 289 trillion standard cf of natural gas, it said on December 1.