ADNOC Awards $975 Mln Contract to Develop Offshore Field in UAE

The project involves dredging, land reclamation, and marine construction for artificial island G at the Lower Zakum field offshore.  (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The project involves dredging, land reclamation, and marine construction for artificial island G at the Lower Zakum field offshore. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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ADNOC Awards $975 Mln Contract to Develop Offshore Field in UAE

The project involves dredging, land reclamation, and marine construction for artificial island G at the Lower Zakum field offshore.  (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The project involves dredging, land reclamation, and marine construction for artificial island G at the Lower Zakum field offshore. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

UAE’s ADNOC Offshore has awarded a 3.588 billion dirhams ($975 million) artificial island construction contract to ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S).

The project involves dredging, land reclamation, and marine construction for artificial island G at the Lower Zakum field offshore.

ADNOC L&S is primed to execute major offshore engineering, procurement, and construction contracts. “The EPC market is expected to experience substantial growth in the region in the coming years,” the company said.

The company offers a range of services to its customers while facilitating the growth of ADNOC Group’s upstream and downstream operations.

This is the maritime logistics company’s first major contract after being listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange last week.

“This contract award for the construction of the artificial island exemplifies our strategy to tap into new growth areas, showcasing the expanding range of services we offer to our customers and the trust that ADNOC Offshore has placed in us as their partner of choice,” Abdulkareem Al-Masabi, CEO of ADNOC L&S said.

The contract is part of Lower Zakum’s long-term development plan that seeks to unlock greater value while helping to meet the increasing global energy demand safely and sustainably.

ADNOC Offshore has extensive experience in deploying the artificial island concept for project delivery, resulting in significant cost savings and environmental benefits compared to conventional approaches that require more offshore installations and infrastructure.

The company has a fleet of 245 vessels and manages around 540 ships annually, in addition to its 1.5 million-square-meter integrated logistics base in Abu Dhabi.

ADNOC L&S expects growth of average annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. This growth will be driven by new contract awards, further expansion of the Integrated Logistics Services Platform, and optimized re-use of jack-up barges.



Bitcoin Drops to 11-day Low amid Tech Selloff

FILE PHOTO: Sparks strike representation of cryptocurrency Bitcoin in this illustration taken November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Sparks strike representation of cryptocurrency Bitcoin in this illustration taken November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Bitcoin Drops to 11-day Low amid Tech Selloff

FILE PHOTO: Sparks strike representation of cryptocurrency Bitcoin in this illustration taken November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Sparks strike representation of cryptocurrency Bitcoin in this illustration taken November 24, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Bitcoin fell below $100,000 on Monday, hitting its lowest in 11 days, in a move analysts attributed to a wave of caution after the surging popularity of a Chinese artificial intelligence model sparked a selloff in Western AI-related stocks.

The world's biggest cryptocurrency struggled to make gains last week, as a rally that had seen it break above $100,000 after US President Donald Trump's election ran out of steam, Reuters reported.

At 1156 GMT, bitcoin was at $98,852.17, down around 6% on the day, having fallen sharply in early trading to hit its lowest since Jan. 16.

Technology stocks plunged, as traders worried that Chinese AI startup DeepSeek could threaten Western companies' dominance of the sector, in a move some called AI's "Sputnik moment", referring to the former Soviet Union's launch of a satellite that marked the start of the space race in the late 1950s.

Bitcoin's losses are "seemingly driven by some risk-off sentiment circulating the markets currently due to DeepSeek," wrote eToro analyst Simon Peters.

Geoffrey Kendrick, global head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, said a decline in Nasdaq futures had hurt crypto markets, but that disappointment over the Trump administration's announcement about a cryptocurrency stockpile had put digital assets more at risk of a sharp selloff.

Crypto failed to feature in Trump's day-one announcements after taking office last week, leaving some investors disappointed. In an executive order on Thursday, Trump created a working group to draft new crypto rules and explore a crypto stockpile, while the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) spiked accounting guidance that the industry said had stymied crypto adoption.

The prospect of interest rates staying higher for longer also hurt riskier assets, said Thomas Puech, CEO of digital asset hedge fund Indigo.

US Federal Reserve policymakers meet this week and are expected to keep interest rates on hold.