The recently established Turnwell JV between Adnoc Drilling, SLB and Patterson-UTI (MEES, 17 May) has started drilling its first well. The well is being drilled in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region and is intended to help “unlock Abu Dhabi’s world-class unconventional energy resources.” It is the first of a 144-well unconventional oil and gas focused drilling campaign under a AED6.24bn ($1.7bn) contract awarded in May.

Abu Dhabi estimates that it has 220bn barrels of unconventional oil and 460tcf of unconventional gas in place, and Adnoc Executive Upstream Director Abdulmunim al-Kindy says that “Turnwell marks a new era in Abu Dhabi’s energy industry as we establish a UAE growth champion to unlock our nation’s world-class unconventional energy resources.” (CONTINUED - 121 WORDS)