UAE Signs New Contracts to Develop Energy Sector

The Upper Zakum oil field in Abu Dhabi. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Upper Zakum oil field in Abu Dhabi. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT

UAE Signs New Contracts to Develop Energy Sector

The Upper Zakum oil field in Abu Dhabi. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Upper Zakum oil field in Abu Dhabi. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The United Arab Emirates awarded ADNOC Drilling a five-year contract to provide integrated drilling services for the development of the Upper Zakum oil field in Abu Dhabi.

The new contracts in the oil and gas sector are part of the Emirati authorities' efforts to increase the production capacity of energy supplies.

The $412 million contract will be implemented by ADNOC Offshore and start in the second quarter of 2023.

ADNOC Drilling, listed on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, announced it would provide integrated drilling services to the Upper Zakum field, the largest producing field in ADNOC’s portfolio, the second-largest offshore oilfield, and the fourth-largest oilfield in the world.

The services provided by ADNOC Drilling will enhance the efficiency of the project's production operations and achieve significant cost savings.

It would also support the company's plans to accelerate the goal of raising its production capacity responsibly to contribute to meeting the growing global demand for energy.

Chief Executive of ADNOC Drilling Abdulrahman al-Seiari said: "We are pleased" that the company has obtained this contract, which will contribute to "effective development of the Upper Zakum field and enable ADNOC to realize accelerated production capacity targets to responsibly supply energy to a world which sees continuously rising demand."

He added: "This contract award further demonstrates the delivery of our strategic objective to expand our oilfield services (OFS) business as we continue to work towards our goal of further doubling OFS revenues by 2025. This contract will add 20 percent to our annual revenue compared with 2022."

In a statement, ADNOC Drilling announced it was committed to expanding its comprehensive suite of services in the Oilfield Services (OFS) division to enable the efficient and competitive delivery of start-to-finish drilling and well completion for the benefit of its customers.

In 2022, ADNOC Drilling had 40 operational Integrated Drilling Services (IDS) rigs, with OFS revenue reaching $405 million, an increase of 23 percent from the previous year.

Previous IDS contract awards in 2022 include a $1.3 billion award for the Ghasha Megaproject, a $1.6 billion award for integrated drilling fluid services, and a $777 million for wireline and perforation services.

Furthermore, ADNOC Logistics & Services, the shipping and maritime logistics arm of ADNOC, announced the deployment of five new-build Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGC).

The five VLGCs (Al Ain, Zakher, Rabdan, al-Salam, and Baynounah), each with a capacity of 86,000 cubic meters, have dual-fuel engine technology and use LPG as their primary fuel source, making them among the lowest-emission vessels of this type.

The gas carriers were built at Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, China, and will be owned and operated by AW Shipping, an ADNOC L&S joint venture with Wanhua Chemical Group (Wanhua).

The VLGCs, which transport liquified petroleum gas (LPG), will provide ADNOC L&S greater flexibility to meet growing global gas demand.



Lebanon Bonds Rally to Fresh Two-year High on Ceasefire Hopes

A man counts Lebanese pounds at a currency exchange shop in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A man counts Lebanese pounds at a currency exchange shop in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
TT

Lebanon Bonds Rally to Fresh Two-year High on Ceasefire Hopes

A man counts Lebanese pounds at a currency exchange shop in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A man counts Lebanese pounds at a currency exchange shop in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Lebanon's deeply distressed sovereign dollar bonds hit a fresh two-year high on Tuesday as investors bet that a potential ceasefire with Israel could improve the country's prospects.

The bonds, which are still trading below 10 cents on the dollar, have gained more than 3% this week. The 2031 maturity was biding at 9.3 cents on the dollar, its highest since May 2022, according to Reuters.

"Some investors are mulling if it is a right time to buy, since a ceasefire is the first step needed to at some point in time restructure bonds," said Bruno Gennari, emerging markets strategist with KNG Securities International.

Israel's cabinet is expected to convene on Tuesday to discuss, and likely approve, a US plan for a ceasefire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah, a senior Israeli official said.

Israeli airstrikes, which continued on Tuesday, have decimated Lebanon's infrastructure and killed thousands.

But the counterintuitive rally, the second since Israel began bombing the country in September, was driven by bets that the deal could jolt Lebanon's fractured political system and revive efforts to pull the country out of default.