Pakistani consortium approve corporate guarantees for Adnoc, SCFEA

KARACHI: The Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL) have approved the issuance of corporate guarantees in favour of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and the Supreme Council for the Financial and Economic Affairs (SCFEA), as the Pakistani consortium is offered a block in Abu Dhabi bidding round 2019.

The three petroleum companies also approved an investment of $100 million each in the new company (NewCO) formed in Abu Dhabi, in which the Government Holdings Pvt Ltd (GHPL) is also an equal partner.

The NewCo would conduct exploration and production of petroleum in one of the blocks offered in Abu Dhabi bidding round 2019.

Five blocks have been announced for commercially competitive bidding in this 2019 round, three of which are offshore and two are onshore.

Based on the existing data from detailed petroleum system studies, seismic surveys, log files and core samples from appraisal wells, estimates suggest these new blocks could hold multiple billion barrels of oil and multiple trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Some of the blocks had already made discoveries, and within the combined area, there are 290 targeted reservoirs from 92 prospects and leads. In addition to the country’s conventional potential, one of the offered blocks is expected to contain significant unconventional resources.

Abu Dhabi’s first competitive block bidding round was concluded in March 2019, which attracted major international players. The successful bidders included a consortium of Bharat Petroleum Company and Indian Oil Corporation Limited.

Besides, other international companies, Eni (Italy), PTTEP (Thailand), Occidental Petroleum (US) and Inpex (Japan) also won the blocks.

The Abu Dhabi’s second bidding round provides a major opportunity for the consortium of Pakistan’s leading E&P companies to join the world renowned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and unlocking the untapped resources in one of the world’s largest hydrocarbon super-basins by investing in a trusted and reliable business environment.