IOC acquires onshore block in Abu-Dhabi

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), a maharatna company, acquired the Abu Dhabi Onshore block 1, the company announced in an exchange filing on Monday.

IOC along with Bharat PetroResources (BPRL), subsidiary of Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), have been awarded 100 per cent stake in the Abu Dhabi Onshore Block 1 Concession. The concession has been awarded by the Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC), on behalf of the Abu Dhabi government, where participation of the Indian consortium is through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), Urja Bharat Pte, which comprises of IndianOil 50%, BPRL 50%. The Indian consortium will make an investment of US$170 million for the exploration activities. This award is part of Abu Dhabi's first-ever competitive block bid round.

The contract is valid for a term of 35 years with immediate effect. The contract was signed on March 24 2019 between ADNOC and Indian consortium. Onshore Block 1 covers an area of 6,162 sq. km. around Ruwais field and includes already discovered but undeveloped fields. The present transaction marks the entry of Indian Oil as Joint Operator in the highly prospective UAE region is consistent with the company's strategic objective of adding high-quality E&P assets to its existing upstream portfolio.

On Monday, at 14.10 hours, the stock traded at Rs. 161.25 per share, higher by 2.90 per cent on BSE.