UAE’s ADNOC to merge ADMA-OPCO, ZADCO

The UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) plans to integrate the operations of two offshore firms, Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (ADMA-OPCO) and Zakum Development Company (ZADCO), into a single entity.

The formation of the new company will “enable efficiencies and synergies across the multiple ADMA-OPCO and ZADCO offshore concessions and fields,” ADNOC said in a statement carried on UAE state news agency WAM.

The consolidated entity will also help the state-owned oil firm run a more profitable upstream business, said Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, minister of state and CEO of the ADNOC Group.

Yaser Al Mazrouei, current chief executive of ADMA-OPCO, is being appointed as the joint CEO of the new company, which is expected to be consolidated by early 2018.

BP, ExxonMobil, Japan Oil Development Company (JODCO) and Total – ADNOC’s international partners in the two offshore companies – are working with the group through the integration phase.

“The existing concession rights of our partners in the concessions currently operated by ADMA-OPCO and ZADCO will not be affected by the consolidation. Looking ahead, ADNOC will continue to review and consider all options, and pursue partners for concessions expiring in 2018,” Al Jaber said.

ADNOC holds a 60 percent stake in ADMA-OPCO, with the remaining shares held by BP, JODCO, and Total.

The firm also owns a 60 percent share in ZADCO, while the remaining shares are held by ExxonMobil and JODCO.

Companies in the oil and gas sector worldwide have accelerated reductions in operating costs over the past year to adjust to the drop in oil prices, ratings agency Moody’s said in a report on Tuesday.

Crude prices have tumbled over 55 percent from highs of more than $100 a barrel in mid-2014, leading to large-scale headcount reductions among global oil firms. Earlier this year, it was reported that ADNOC plans to cut 5,000 jobs by year-end.