Offshore staff
TOKYO– The Supreme Petroleum Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (SPC) has awarded INPEX a 10% interest in the offshore Lower Zakum concession under a 40-year term that expires in March 2058.
JODCO Lower Zakum Ltd., a subsidiary of the company, will manage this interest.
The Lower Zakum oil field was discovered in 1963 roughly 80 km (50 mi) northwest of Abu Dhabi City, and began production in 1967.
It is the largest oil field in the current ADMA offshore concession, with targeted production of around 450,000 b/d.
Additionally, INPEX has negotiated a 25-year extension of the Satah and Umm Al Dalkh concession offshore Abu Dhabi to March 2043 with the SPC and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC), following an agreement in principle announced last year.
Under the accord, INPEX gains an additional 28% share in the Umm Al Dalkh oil field, lifting its interest in both fields to 40%. In this case, subsidiary company Japan Oil Development Co. will manage the holdings.
The Umm Al Dalkh oil field was discovered in 1969, 25 km (15.5 mi) northwest of Abu Dhabi City, and started production in 1985. The Satah oil field, discovered in 1975, 200 km (124 mi) northwest of Abu Dhabi City, entered production in 1987.
INPEX and sole partner ADNOC, aim to raise combined output from these two fields to around 45,000 b/d.
These developments build on INPEX’s involvement in the offshoreUpper Zakum concession, where the partners last year committed to increasing production capacity initially to 750,000 b/d and eventually to 1 MMb/d, also securing a 10-year extension as license holders.
02/28/2018
