Urja Bharat Pte Limited (UBPL), a 50:50 Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) formed by Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. and Bharat Petro Resources Limited, has been awarded a Production Concession by the Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs (SCFEA), Abu Dhabi.
This follows the award of the exploration and production concession to UBPL in March 2019, and the successful completion of the exploration phase, during which the SPV invested nearly USD 164 million.
The concession agreement includes a total area of up to 6,162 square kilometers, granting UBPL 100% concession rights. Initial exploration efforts have yielded positive results in Onshore Block 1, including within the 38 square kilometer Ruwais area. With the award of the Production Concession, UBPL is eligible to commercially develop the oil and gas resources in the area. This is the first full production concession award to an international company from the Abu Dhabi’s exploration blocks bid rounds.
The production concession agreement gives UBPL the equity oil rights and will supplement the efforts of the company towards energy security of India. The present transaction marks entry of Indian Qil Corporation Ltd. as an Operator for development of a production concession in the highly prolific Abu Dhabi region and is consistent with its stated strategic objective of balancing its portfolio by adding production assets in prolific basins to its existing E&P portfolio.
