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.



UN's FAO: World Food Prices Increase in April

FILE - A customer checks his shopping receipts while waiting in line at the food court at Costco Wholesale store in Glendale, Calif., on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
FILE - A customer checks his shopping receipts while waiting in line at the food court at Costco Wholesale store in Glendale, Calif., on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
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UN's FAO: World Food Prices Increase in April

FILE - A customer checks his shopping receipts while waiting in line at the food court at Costco Wholesale store in Glendale, Calif., on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
FILE - A customer checks his shopping receipts while waiting in line at the food court at Costco Wholesale store in Glendale, Calif., on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Global food commodity prices increased in April, driven by higher cereal, meat and dairy product prices that outweighed falls in sugar and vegetable oils, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization said on Friday.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in a basket of internationally traded food commodities, averaged 128.3 points in April, up 1% versus the March estimate of 127.1 points, Reuters reported.
The April reading was also 7.6% higher than the same month a year ago but 19.9% below a March 2022 peak reached following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
For cereals, FAO's price index rose 1.2% from March as wheat prices edged up due to tighter exports from Russia, rice rose on stronger demand and corn stocks tightened in the United States.
"Currency fluctuations influenced price movements in world markets, while tariff policy adjustments raised market uncertainty," the FAO added.
Despite the April rise, the cereal price index was 0.5% below its year earlier level.
Also driving food prices higher, the FAO's meat price index rose 3.2% last month, led by pig meat prices and firm import demand for bovine meat.
The dairy price index rose 2.4% in April and jumped 22.9% versus a year ago as butter prices hit record highs thanks to declining inventories in Europe.
By contrast, FAO's vegetable price index fell 2.3% last month due to a sharp decline in palm oil prices, while the sugar price index dropped 3.5% on fears over the uncertain global economic outlook.
In a separate cereal report, FAO kept its forecast for world wheat production unchanged at 795 million metric tons, on par with 2024 levels.
The agency decreased its estimate slightly for global cereal production in 2024 to 4.848 billion tons from 2.849 billion.