Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. has made an $18.7 billion offer for Australian fossil fuel producer Santos Ltd., in one of the most audacious overseas moves yet by the Middle Eastern company as it seeks to expand its production of liquefied natural gas.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. has been internally studying the prospects for acquiring some BP assets and has held initial consultations with bankers, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. It is also considering partnering with another bidder to split some of the assets, they said.
“The Rovuma Basin, one of the largest gas discoveries in the past fifteen years, offers XRG access to pioneering LNG projects with a combined potential production capacity of more than 25 million tons per annum”, XRG said at the time. “This acquisition includes stakes in the operational Coral South Floating LNG (FLNG), the planned Coral North FLNG and Rovuma LNG’s onshore development projects”.
The joint venture deal comprises two rigs in Kuwait and six in Oman, all currently under contract with the Kuwaiti and Omani NOCs. ANDOC Drilling will pay USD 91 million for the 70% stake, plus an additional potential payment of USD 21 million based on rig performance, Reuters reported.
“We welcome our partners’ commitment to advancing local manufacturing through their investments in these state-of-the-art facilities which will strengthen the UAE’s industrial base and create highly skilled private sector jobs”, Yaser Saeed Almazrouei, ADNOC Executive Director for People, Commercial, and Corporate Support, said. “These investments reflect ADNOC’s ongoing drive to support the ‘Make it in the Emirates’ initiative and localize strategic industrial capabilities through our In-Country Value program”.
ADNOC investment arm XRG has signed an agreement with Occidental and subsidiary 1PointFive to evaluate a joint venture for a direct air capture (DAC) hub in South Texas, the companies announced on Friday.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. will work with Exxon to boost capacity at the offshore Upper Zakum field, the UAE company said in a statement Friday. The site, where Japan’s Inpex Corp. is also a partner, currently can produce more than 1 million bpd. ADNOC didn’t specify the new target.
Oil-rich Middle Eastern nations regularly tender contracts to explore for new deposits or develop previously untapped wells. Both Oman and Kuwait are looking to boost development and are seeking the services of international drillers and producers.
ADNOC has signed term deals for the supply of LNG with Chinese buyers ENN Natural Gas and state-owned Zenhua Oil, Reuters reported on Saturday.
Privately owned natural gas company ENN Natural Gas agreed to buy about 1 million tonnes per year for a period of 15 years. The deal represents ADNOC’s largest-ever LNG supply contract with a Chinese buyer, according to the report.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. is working with advisers to evaluate an offer for the assets that could potentially be worth about $9 billion, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the matter is private. Other suitors are also circling Aethon’s natural gas and midstream assets that are mostly based in Texas and Louisiana, the people said.
Deliberations are in the early stages and no final agreements have been reached, the people said. It isn’t immediately clear if recent market volatility would impact the transaction.