Adnoc awards Indian firm Dh1.25bn contract to develop onshore field

Production from the Haliba asset is set to come on-stream mid-2019

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE state minister and Adnoc group chief executive, left receives Indian premier Narendra Modi. (Rashed Al Mansoori / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi )

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) awarded Indian firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T) a  contract worth more than  Dh1.25bn to develop a small onshore field as the emirate boosts its energy ties with India.

L&T will undertake engineering works in the Haliba asset, which is operated by Adnoc subsidiary Al Dhafra Petroleum and will start production at 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) by mid-2019. Production capacity of the field located along the south-east border of Abu Dhabi will be increased to 40,000 bpd by 2020.

"The infrastructure investment will increase our group-wide production capacity and optimise our assets by utilising our existing onshore facilities, allowing Adnoc to develop previously untapped oil reserves in an efficient way," Adnoc upstream director Abdulmunim Al Kindy said in a statement.

The award to Mumbai-based L&T, one of India's largest infrastructure and engineering companies, comes after Adnoc awarded a 10 per cent stake of an offshore field to a consortium led by the international arm of ONGC, India's state-owned explorer.

The agreement with L&T forms part of a raft of economic pacts signed between the UAE and India following the visit of its prime minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.

The agreement with the ONGC to develop the offshore Lower Zakum for 40 years, is the first hydrocarbon rights agreement between Abu Dhabi and Asia's third-largest economy. The move comes amid increasing efforts by Gulf producers to service growing Asian demand by offering investment opportunities to lock-in long-term supply.

Last year, China National Petroleum Corporation won an 8 per cent stake in Adnoc Onshore. China Energy also took a per cent stake in the Adnoc subsidiary that operates onshore concessions in the emirate, including the Bab, Asab and Bu Hasa fields.

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Al Dhafra is 60 per cent owned by Adnoc, with the remaining 40 per cent shared by Korea National Oil Corporation and South Korea's GS Engineering.

As part of the works, L&T will spud 32 wells and will construct a 65km pipeline to transport crude from Haliba to Adnoc's onshore Asab central degassing station for processing. The processed crude will then be transported via existing main oil lines to marine export terminals.