BPCL's joint venture with IOC wins production concession in Abu Dhabi

BPCL added that during the exploration phase, the company invested nearly $164 million

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) on Wednesday said its subsidiary along with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has been awarded a production concession by The Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs (SCFEA) in Abu Dhabi.

BPCL said the production concession agreement follows the award of the exploration and production concession to Urja Bharat Pte Limited (UBPL) in March 2019, and the successful completion of the exploration phase.

UBPL is a 50:50 Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of BPCL and IOC.

The concession agreement covers a total area of up to 6,162 square kilometres, offering UBPL 100 per cent concession rights. The area includes conventional undeveloped oil and gas resources, BPCL said.

“Initial exploration efforts have yielded positive results in Onshore Block 1, specifically within the 38 square kilometres Ruwais area,” the statement added.

BPCL added the company invested nearly USD 164 million during the exploration phase.

The production concession agreement, BPCL said, gives UBPL the equity oil rights and will supplement the efforts of the company towards energy security of India.

BPCL said the present transaction also marks the entry of Bharat PetroResources Limited (BPRL) as an operator for development of a production concession in the highly prolific Abu Dhabi region. The transaction is consistent with its stated strategic objective of balancing its portfolio by adding production assets in prolific basins to its existing exploration and production (E&P) portfolio, the statement added.

BPCL noted this is the first full production concession award to an international company from Abu Dhabi’s exploration blocks bid rounds.