Holding a 10% stake! PetroChina participates in the joint development of UAE offshore natural gas production capacity

On July 21, the UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) officially made the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the Umm Shaif gas cap development project. With a total investment of $6.2 billion (approximately 41.953 billion RMB), the project will be jointly developed by TotalEnergies, Eni, and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to exploit the gas cap oil and gas resources in the Umm Shaif offshore area of Abu Dhabi, supporting the implementation of ADNOC's integrated global natural gas development strategy.

The UAE ranks seventh in the world in terms of natural gas reserves.

Upon completion and operation, the Umm Shaif gas cap project will be capable of extracting over 600 million standard cubic feet of natural gas per day, a production scale close to 10% of the UAE's current daily national natural gas consumption. The project is scheduled to officially commence production in 2030. This investment covers three Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contracts and plans for the drilling and development of 14 wells.

The project is located in the Abu Dhabi Umm Shaif and Nasr offshore concession blocks. The equity structure of the cooperating parties is clearly defined: ADNOC holds a 60% stake and serves as the operator, TotalEnergies holds 20%, while Eni and CNPC each hold a 10% stake in the project. Based on the total investment amount, CNPC's corresponding investment scale is approximately $620 million.

The Umm Shaif oil and gas field is Abu Dhabi's oldest offshore oil and gas asset, having produced the UAE's first export crude oil as early as 1962. This development of gas cap resources is a key offshore natural gas production increase project being promoted by ADNOC, aiming to revitalize the gas cap resources above the oil field, while balancing domestic energy security in the UAE with the construction of natural gas export capabilities.

Leveraging the foundation of long-term cooperation, CNPC has held a 10% stake in the Umm Shaif and Nasr concessions since 2018 and has continued to participate deeply in the exploration and development of oil and gas in this block. The realization of the Umm Shaif gas cap project further deepens pragmatic cooperation between China and the UAE in the oil and gas industry and broadens the channels for Chinese enterprises to obtain stable overseas natural gas resource supplies.

Industry analysis suggests that as the global market's demand for stable natural gas supply continues to rise, the UAE is continuously increasing its efforts in upstream natural gas development. Once the Umm Shaif gas cap project goes into operation, it will further consolidate the UAE's status as a regional natural gas supply hub, while also building a long-term collaborative development platform for international energy enterprises.

Note: Equity ratios are sourced from official announcements by ADNOC and TotalEnergies; CNPC's 10% equity is the established percentage for the concession. The $620 million figure is the corresponding investment share calculated based on the project's total investment of $6.2 billion.