ADNOC signs off on upstream deal enabling SOCAR to come aboard two offshore fields

The UAE’s oil and gas heavyweight, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), has inked an agreement to transfer a stake in two fields at a concession off the coast of the UAE to the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR). This represents the Azerbaijani player’s first international upstream investment foray.

Thanks to the deal with ADNOC, SOCAR secured a 3% participating interest in the SARB and Umm Lulu offshore concession, expanding the duo’s collaboration across the energy value chain and building upon the strategic energy partnership between the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan.  

Abdulmunim Saif Al Kindy, ADNOC’s Upstream Executive Director, commented: “We are very pleased to welcome SOCAR to the SARB and Umm Lulu concession. This award supports ADNOC’s strategy to leverage strategic partnerships and advanced technologies to maximize value from Abu Dhabi’s energy resources to ensure a secure, reliable and responsible supply of energy.” 

According to ADNOC, SARB and Umm Lulu deploy digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for remote monitoring, smart well operations, and production management to optimize the production efficiency, reduce emissions, enhance safety, and increase production capacity. The two fields use intelligent well surveillance (IWS) technology to operate wells at an optimum rate to drive operational efficiency. 

Rovshan Najaf, President of SOCAR, remarked: “This is our first international upstream investment and we are particularly delighted to make this investment in Abu Dhabi, building upon our bilateral strategic relationships. We are committed to advance our energy partnership with ADNOC even further and continue cooperating in many more projects of mutual interest.”

The deal for the SARB and Umm Lulu fields builds upon previous collaborations between the two companies, including ADNOC’s acquisition of a 30% equity stake in the Absheron gas and condensate field in the Caspian Sea and a strategic collaboration agreement on the potential development of low carbon energy technologies, including hydrogen and geothermal.

The UAE energy giant recently boosted its energy portfolio with new acquisitions. Following its entrance into the U.S. thanks to agreements for LNG offtake and an equity position in the Rio Grande LNG (RGLNG) export project located in Texas, ADNOC made its first investment in Mozambique by getting its hands on a 10% interest in the Area 4 concession, joining other players in the Rovuma supergiant gas basin.

The firm is also working on the Ruwais LNG project in Al Ruwais Industrial City, Abu Dhabi, for which it recently got a hold of a third long-term LNG supply agreement to deliver 0.6 million mtpa of LNG.