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ADNOC Awards 4% Stake to China's ZhenHua Oil Company in Onshore Concession

Dr. Sultan al-Jaber, Chief Executive Officer of ADNOC and Liu YiJiang, Chairman of ZhenHua Oil Company, sign the concession contract. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Dr. Sultan al-Jaber, Chief Executive Officer of ADNOC and Liu YiJiang, Chairman of ZhenHua Oil Company, sign the concession contract. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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ADNOC Awards 4% Stake to China's ZhenHua Oil Company in Onshore Concession

Dr. Sultan al-Jaber, Chief Executive Officer of ADNOC and Liu YiJiang, Chairman of ZhenHua Oil Company, sign the concession contract. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Dr. Sultan al-Jaber, Chief Executive Officer of ADNOC and Liu YiJiang, Chairman of ZhenHua Oil Company, sign the concession contract. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

North Petroleum International Company, a subsidiary of China ZhenHua Oil Co. Ltd, acquired four percent stake in Abu Dhabi National Oil Company's (ADNOC) onshore concession, previously held by CEFC China Energy Company Limited (CEFC China).

ADNOC said ownership change, which was approved by Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Petroleum Council, came in line with the UAE leadership’s directives to grant access to Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas concessions to partners who offer technology, operational experience, capital or market access.

"China ZhenHua Oil’s acquisition of the four percent stake in the onshore concession underlines the continued pull of the UAE as a leading global energy and investment destination, backed by a strong, stable and secure commercial environment," said UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber.

"With China ZhenHua Oil, we will pursue mutually beneficial cooperation, share business growth opportunities and work together as we deliver on our 2030 smart growth strategy,” Jaber added.

China ZhenHua Oil is 100 percent indirectly owned by the Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, a Chinese government agency that supervises and manages over a hundred state-owned assets and enterprises in a variety of sectors, including oil and petrochemicals and transport.

Chairman of China Zhenhua Oil Liu Yijiang, for his part, said that ADNOC has succeeded over the past several decades in developing a number of oil fields in Abu Dhabi's large limestone and carbonated reservoirs.

"As a new partner in UAE’s upstream sector, [China Zhenhua Oil] is honored to join the operating concession and will contribute its capabilities in technology, management and supply chains, which may maximize the benefits and value for all,” Yijiang added.

ZhenHua Oil operates 11 oil and gas upstream projects in six countries, with gross production of close to 10 million metric tons per year.

It is also in the fuel storage, transportation and refining business, with a trading desk in Singapore.

Following this step, China ZhenHua Oil will join the onshore concession and shareholders of ADNOC Onshore, including BP of the UK (10 percent), Total of France (10 percent), China National Petroleum Corporation (eight percent), Inpex Corporation of Japan (five percent), and GS Energy of South Korea (three percent) as participants in the onshore concession and shareholders of ADNOC Onshore.

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G7 Leaders Meet in Canada Hoping to Avoid Trump Clash

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney attends a bilateral meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (not pictured), before the start of the G7 summit, at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario Canada, June 15, 2025. (Reuters)
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney attends a bilateral meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (not pictured), before the start of the G7 summit, at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario Canada, June 15, 2025. (Reuters)
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G7 Leaders Meet in Canada Hoping to Avoid Trump Clash

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney attends a bilateral meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (not pictured), before the start of the G7 summit, at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario Canada, June 15, 2025. (Reuters)
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney attends a bilateral meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (not pictured), before the start of the G7 summit, at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario Canada, June 15, 2025. (Reuters)

Group of Seven leaders gather in the Canadian Rockies starting on Sunday amid growing splits with the United States over foreign policy and trade, with host Canada striving to avoid clashes with President Donald Trump.

While Prime Minister Mark Carney says his priorities are strengthening peace and security, building critical mineral supply chains and creating jobs, issues such as US tariffs and the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine are expected to feature heavily.

Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other overnight into Sunday, killing scores hours before the leaders of the world's industrialized democracies meet.

"This issue will be very high on the agenda of the G7 summit," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said. He said his goals are for Iran to not develop or possess nuclear weapons, ensuring Israel's right to defend itself, avoiding escalation of conflict and creating room for diplomacy.

The summit takes place in the mountain resort of Kananaskis, some 90 km (56 miles) west of Calgary.

The last time Canada played host, in 2018, Trump left the summit before denouncing then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as "very dishonest and weak" and instructing the US delegation to withdraw its approval of the final communique.

"This will be a successful meeting if Donald Trump doesn't have an eruption that disrupts the entire gathering. Anything above and beyond that is gravy," said University of Ottawa international affairs professor Roland Paris, who was foreign policy adviser to Trudeau.

Trump has often mused about annexing Canada and arrives at a time when Carney is threatening reprisals if Washington does not lift tariffs on steel and aluminum.

"The best-case scenario... is that there's no real blow-ups coming out of the back end," said Josh Lipsky, chair of international economics at the Atlantic Council think tank and a former White House and State Department official.

Carney's office declined to comment on how the Israeli strikes would affect the summit.

Diplomats said Canada has ditched the idea of a traditional comprehensive joint communique and would issue chair summaries instead, in hopes of containing a disaster and maintaining engagement with the US.

A senior Canadian official told reporters that Ottawa wanted to focus on actions the seven members - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States - could take together.

Canadian Senator Peter Boehm, a veteran former diplomat who acted as Trudeau's personal representative to the 2018 summit, said he had been told the summit would last longer than usual to give time for bilateral meetings with the US president.

Expected guests for parts of the Sunday to Tuesday event include leaders from Ukraine, Mexico, India, Australia, South Africa, South Korea and Brazil.

"Many will want to talk to President Trump about their own particular interests and concerns," Boehm said by phone.

A senior US official said on Friday working discussions would cover trade and the global economy, critical minerals, migrant and drug smuggling, wildfires, international security, artificial intelligence and energy security.

"The president is eager to pursue his goals in all of these areas including making America’s trade relationships fair and reciprocal," the official said.

The visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to the Oval Office in February descended into acrimony and has served as a warning for other world leaders about the delicate dance they face in negotiating with Trump.

But diplomats say the frustration of dealing with the Trump administration has made some keener to assert themselves.

'THE BIG TEST'

Canada has long been one of Ukraine's most vocal supporters. Trump came to power promising to end the war with Russia within 24 hours, but diplomatic efforts have stalled.

One Ukrainian official involved in preparations for the summit said hope had faded for a strong statement in support of Ukraine. Instead, success for Kyiv would merely constitute an amicable meeting between Trump and Zelenskiy.

A European official said the G7 summit and the NATO summit in The Hague later in June provided an opportunity to underscore to Trump the need to press ahead with a sanctions bill put together by US senators alongside a new European package to pressure Russia into a ceasefire and broader talks.

Trump’s first international summit of his second term will offer some early clues on whether he is interested in working with allies to solve common problems, said Max Bergmann, a director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“The big overarching question here is, basically, is the United States still committed to formats like the G7? That is going to be the big test,” Bergmann said.