ADNOC's XRG acquires stake in Turkmenistan Gas Block

XRG, the international investment arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), announced on Wednesday that it had acquired a stake in a Turkmenistan offshore natural gas block as part of its ambitious expansion plans.

XRG was set up in late 2018 and ADNOC reported that it has assets worth $80 billion. Its mandate is to pursue global deals for chemicals, natural gases and renewables. Abu Dhabi wants to create a portfolio of companies in these areas, and rely less and less on oil exports.

XRG announced that Malaysian state oil company Petronas would hold a 57% stake in "Block I" offshore, XRG 38% and Turkmen State firm Hazarnebit 5%.

As part of the agreement, XRG said that they signed a long term gas sales contract with Turkmengas. The financial details of the agreement were not revealed.

Three companies signed a contract for a production-sharing agreement with Turkmennebit, the national oil company of Turkmenistan.

The Caspian block currently produces 400 millions cubic feet of gas per day.

In a statement, XRG stated that "it offers significant long-term opportunities with access to more than 7 trillion cubic feet natural gas resources as well as future opportunities for expansion of production capacity." Mark Potter edited the report by Yousef Sabah.

(source: Reuters)