The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) announced today (February 3) the discovery of natural gas resources offshore of the UAE capital.

 

Interim results from the first exploration well in Abu Dhabi’s Offshore Block 2 Exploration Concession operated by Eni, indicate between 1.5 – 2 trillion standard cubic feet (TSCF) of raw gas in place.

 

Offshore Block 2 covers an area of 4,033 square kilometers northwest of Abu Dhabi. The discovery in the block was enabled by new insights from the world’s largest combined onshore and offshore three-dimensional (3D) mega seismic survey currently underway in Abu Dhabi.

 

This discovery marks the first from Abu Dhabi’s offshore exploration concessions, highlighting the continued success of Adnoc’s block bid rounds and its expanded approach to strategic partnerships. 

 

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

 

Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Managing Director and ADNOC Group CEO, said: "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, in line with the Leadership’s wise directives."

 

"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," he added.

 

Yaser Saeed Almazrouei, Adnoc Upstream Executive Director, said, "The positive interim results recorded by our partners, Eni and PTTEP, in the exploration of Offshore Block 2 follows the recent significant discovery in Onshore Block 4, highlighting the continued success of ADNOC’s accelerated exploration and development program."

 

"Both discoveries leveraged insights from Adnoc’s ongoing 3D mega seismic survey, underpinning the important role the survey is playing for us and our strategic partners as it utilises state-of-the-art technologies to help identify new hydrocarbon resources across Abu Dhabi," he added.