Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC to Acquire 30% Stake in Absheron Gas Field

The sun rises over the headquarters of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. headquarters that dominates the skyline in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Nov. 7, 2016. (AP)
The sun rises over the headquarters of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. headquarters that dominates the skyline in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Nov. 7, 2016. (AP)
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Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC to Acquire 30% Stake in Absheron Gas Field

The sun rises over the headquarters of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. headquarters that dominates the skyline in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Nov. 7, 2016. (AP)
The sun rises over the headquarters of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. headquarters that dominates the skyline in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Nov. 7, 2016. (AP)

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said on Friday it would acquire a 30% equity stake in the Absheron gas and condensate field in the Caspian Sea off the coast of Baku.

The agreement would see Azeri state oil company SOCAR and TotalEnergies each holding a 35% stake in the field.

TotalEnergies had announced first gas from Absheron in July. Prior to Friday's agreement, it held a 50% stake alongside SOCAR.

ADNOC's investment in Azerbaijan comes as part of a strategic plan to grow its international gas business.

The Abu Dhabi state oil giant in March offered, with BP, to jointly acquire 50% of Israeli offshore natural gas producer NewMed Energy for about $2 billion, marking their entry into Israel's growing energy sector.

ADNOC sharpened its focus on the gas market as competition for LNG has ramped up since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with Europe in particular needing large amounts to help replace gas piped from Russia.

"With global gas demand expected to steadily increase over the coming decades, ADNOC will continue to responsibly meet the world's energy needs by developing and producing natural gas from world-class assets such as Absheron," Musabbeh Al Kaabi, executive director of low carbon solutions and international growth at ADNOC, was quoted as saying in a statement.



Gold Bounces Back from One-month Low after Fed Jitters

Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
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Gold Bounces Back from One-month Low after Fed Jitters

Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo

Gold prices erased losses to gain on Thursday, after dipping to the lowest level in a month earlier in the day on the Federal Reserve's hint of a possible rate cut slowdown next year.
Spot gold gained 1.2% to $2,617.96 per ounce as of 0748 GMT, having hit its lowest since Nov. 18 in early trade. However, US gold futures were trading 0.8% lower at $2,632.00.
Bullion declined more than 2% on Wednesday after the Fed lowered rates by 25 basis points as expected, but indicated that there will be fewer cuts by the end of 2025, boosting the dollar and bond yields.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said more reductions in borrowing costs now hinge on further progress in lowering stubbornly high inflation.
"The big question over here is that because the Fed says they will still be data-dependent and if Trump's policy starts to actually see inflation, a big risk would be that the Fed may not cut rates next year at all," said Kelvin Wong, OANDA's senior market analyst for Asia Pacific.
Markets now expect interest rates to remain unchanged at the Fed's January meeting.
"A rate cut is usually supportive for the yellow metal... but right now gold is up on short-covering after the dip," said Ajay Kedia, director at Kedia Commodities, Mumbai.
Traders are now awaiting key US GDP, initial jobless claims data later in the day and core PCE data - the Fed's preferred inflation measure - on Friday.
"If the US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data comes in line with expectations that shouldn't be a big surprise. But in case it inches up to 3% and above, we could see some pressure on gold again," Wong said, adding that very short-term oriented speculators are looking for opportunities to buy the dips.
Higher rates dull the appeal of the non-yielding asset.
Spot silver gained 0.8% to $29.59 per ounce, platinum added 0.9% to $927.75 and palladium advanced 1.7% to $917.86.