The curtain came down on one of the oldest oil partnerships in the Middle East when ExxonMobil, Shell, Total and BP and Partex of Portugal signed a closeout agreement with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) on 8 January, ending their participation in the 75-year Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO) concession.
ADNOC will take over operatorship of ADCO’s production as it evaluates bids from among 11 prequalified companies for a stake in the 1.6mn b/d concession (see table). The selection process may take up to a year to complete and will have to be approved by the Supreme Petroleum Council, which is headed by UAE President Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayid al-Nahyan. (CONTINUED - 624 WORDS)
