Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), ExxonMobil Abu Dhabi Offshore Petroleum Company Limited and Japan's INPEX Firm (INPEX), introduced today, on the side lines of the Abu Dhabi International Oil Exhibition and Meeting (ADIPEC), an arrangement to enhance production capacity from the Upper Zakum oil area to 1 million barrels per day by 2024.

The contract was verified at a ceremony participated in by H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and President of ADNOC Group, Darren W. Woods, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Exxon Mobil Firm, and Toshiaki Kitamura, President and President of INPEX. Under the contract, ExxonMobil and INPEX have actually been approved a 10-year expansion for the concession, which resulted from expire on December 31, 2041, till December 31, 2051.

H.E. Dr. Al Jaber said: "ExxonMobil and INPEX, together with our other companions, have actually played a vital function in the advancement of our oil and gas properties. This contract is another milestone in our initiatives to forge partnerships that bring modern technology, competence and resources targeted at delivering greater economic value and degrees of recuperation from our sources.

" As we continue our transformation into a much more readily owned and efficiency led oil and gas company, we are concentrated on securing collaborations to enable us to unlock and make best use of value and safe and secure market accessibility. In the upstream, we are adjusting to the evolving market setting by driving down production expenses and enhancing our crude oil production capacity. We are also concentrating on the application of value add and innovative technologies and are leveraging big information to own efficiencies and optimize production."

The Upper Zakum oil field, located offshore Abu Dhabi, is the 2nd biggest overseas oil field and the 4th biggest oil area in the world. Oil wased initially discovered in 1963 and ADNOC took the choice, at its very own threat, to develop the field, in 1977. Subsequently, in 1978, JODCO, a wholly-owned INPEX subsidiary, partnered with ADNOC in establishing the area, followed by Exxon, in 2006. In the very same year, the Upper Zakum joint venture companions began examining options to raise production capacity from 500,000 barrels per day to 750,000 barrels per day, ultimately pursuing the strategy to use an innovative synthetic island-based development incorporated with extended-reach drilling technology to raise recovery and minimize infrastructure.

" This agreement represents a new milestone for Abu Dhabi's oil production and demonstrates ExxonMobil's long-lasting dedication and partnership with the UAE," Woods stated. "We eagerly anticipate continuing our successful initiatives to enhance production capability from Upper Zakum. By leveraging the staminas of the Upper Zakum joint endeavor companions, we are able to make the most of the value of available resources."

Kitamura said: "This result, in part, is a testimony to the undeviating long-term partnership that INPEX has actually built and kept with Abu Dhabi, as well as INPEX's commitment to the growth of the Upper Zakum oil field because 1978. I am positive this plan will certainly add to the energy safety and security of Japan and verify to be helpful for all stakeholders for years to come."

The megaproject included the construction of four man-made islands in superficial water to produce just what is effectively an onshore setting in the offshore field. Unlike the preliminary Upper Zakum development, which makes up around 450 wells and greater than 90 platforms, the islands provide a huge enough footprint to accommodate exploration gears and house boring and production devices and workers centrally in workplaces and living quarters, at lower cost and with boosted safety and convenience for workers. The recurring costs related to platform coat maintenance and satellites are removed.

The development will certainly continue to use extended-reach drilling and conclusion technologies that have confirmed efficient in enhancing offshore production.

Extended-reach drilling has to do with tapping into storage tanks from a distance, piercing initial vertically, after that drilling at high angle to access the storage tank target and lastly piercing flat in the storage tank area to make the most of reservoir gain access to and healing. Through extended-reach boring, the manufactured islands at Upper Zakum avoid the requirement for added platforms with expensive offshore procedures, and instead allow more affordable land-based exploration operations. Extended-reach drilling includes more worth to boring operations by decreasing the need for costly subsea equipment and pipelines.

The growth will also utilize advanced reservoir characterization and modelling methods, as well as modularly broadening existing infrastructure and centers to make best use of funding efficiency and reduced prices. ADNOC and its partners have used unpredictability modelling in the advancement of the Upper Zakum offshore oil areas, in challenging carbonate geological problems, to prepare the ground for optimal value production in the long term.

Recently, the Upper Zakum development has set several drilling records in the UAE, including the lengthiest well at 35,800 feet measured depth