Page 9 - MEOG Week 29 2021

MEOG FINANCE & INVESTMENT MEOG

Pakistan consortium gives NewCo approval

UAE A group of Pakistan-based oil and gas companies the south-east. Offshore Blocks 3, 4 and 5 cover
have approved the issuance of corporate guaran- the majority of Abu Dhabi’s offshore area.
tees for a consortium which is bidding for an According to ADNOC: “Some of the blocks
exploration block included in the second Abu already have discoveries, and within the com-
Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) competitive bined area there are 290 targeted reservoirs from
bid round in 2019. 92 prospects and leads. In addition to the coun-
According to local media, Pakistan Petroleum try’s conventional potential, one of the offered
Ltd (PPL), Oil and Gas Development Company blocks is expected to contain significant uncon-
Ltd (OGDL) and Mari Petroleum Company Ltd ventional resources.”
approved the guarantees in favour of ADNOC With Onshore Block 5 and Offshore Blocks 3
and the Supreme Council for the Financial and and 4 already apportioned, the Pakistani consor-
Economic Affairs (SCFEA), which will assume tium’s interest is presumably in either Onshore
the regulatory powers of the Supreme Petroleum Block 2 or Offshore Block 5, which covers an area
Council (SPC). north of the 50bn barrel Upper Zakum oilfield.
In a stock exchange filing last month, Mari In February, ADNOC awarded Offshore
Petroleum said the three firms would incor- Block 4 to the local subsidiary of Japan’s Cosmo
porate a company or special purpose vehicle Energy, which is the majority owner of Abu
(NewCo) alongside Government Holding Pvt Dhabi Oil Co. (ADCO) and is predominantly
Ltd (GHPL), with each holding an equal 25% known as a refining specialist. Cosmo took a
share. 100% stake in the exploration phase and will
The firms have now also approved an invest- hold rights to the development and production
ment of up to $100mn each in Pakistan Interna- phases of any successful commercial discov-
tional Oil, which, according to documents seen ery, at which point ADNOC has the option to
by NewsBase, was registered on the Abu Dhabi take its customary 60% share. The contract was
Global Market (ADGM) last week. The firm has signed for a term of 35 years with Cosmo agree-
been set up for the specific purpose of carrying ing to spend up to $145mn on exploration and
out exploration and production on one of the appraisal drilling, including a participation fee,
blocks. across the 4,865-square km offshore concession.
The funds will be invested over a five-year The deal follows similar agreements in
period, with Mari noting that it would seek December with US-based Occidental Petro-
shareholder approval for subsequent funding, as leum for onshore Block 5 and with a consortium
required. In its filing, Mari Petroleum said: “In of Italy’s Eni and Thailand’s PTT Exploration and
case the block is not awarded to the consortium, Production (PTTEP) for Offshore Block 3.
the NewCo shall be dissolved.” As with those agreements, ADNOC noted
However, with the new company formed, that Cosmo would “leverage and contribute
the guarantees in place and investment agreed, financially and technically” to the ongoing mega
the consortium appears close to securing a seismic survey currently being carried out by
concession. China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) geo-
The blocks included in the second round physical specialist subsidiary BGP. The scope of
cover large areas throughout Abu Dhabi, cover- the 3D onshore and offshore survey was recently
ing a total acreage of 34,000 square km. Onshore expanded from around 53,000 square km to
Block 2 is in the south-west, bordering Saudi 82,000 square km, taking the total value of the
Arabia, while Onshore Block 5 borders Oman in contract to $2.12bn.™

Week 29 21•July•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P9