State-controlled oil and gas producer Adnoc awarded framework agreements valued at Dh7.1 billion ($1.94bn) to support drilling growth.
The pacts for wireline logging and perforation services are the largest of their kind in the oil and gas industry and were awarded to Adnoc Drilling, Schlumberger Middle East, Haliburton Worldwide Limited Abu Dhabi and Weatherford Bin Hamoodah Company after a “competitive” tender process, the company said on Thursday.
Wireline logging involves continuously measuring the properties of rock formations to guide drilling operations while perforation creates tunnels in the wellbore to allow fluid to flow in from the reservoir.
“The framework agreements announced today are a continuation of Adnoc's unprecedented investment in services to enable the expansion of drilling activity required to responsibly unlock the UAE’s leading low-cost and low-carbon intensity oil, as well as the nation’s gas resources,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and managing director and group chief executive of Adnoc.
“Not only do these awards support our 2030 strategy, they are expected to deliver over 80 per cent of In-Country Value to the UAE and align with the UAE’s ‘Principles of the 50’ economic blueprint for sustainable growth.”
The awards build on Adnoc's recent record investments in drilling-related equipment and services and supports gas self-sufficiency for the UAE.
In November, Adnoc said it was investing $6bn in drilling growth amid a push to boost its crude oil production capacity to 5 million barrels per day by 2030.
The investment is in the form of procurement awards to top-tier contractors for wellheads and related components, downhole completion equipment and related services, and liner hangers and cementing accessories, which are crucial in drilling for oil and gas and completing wells.
The new framework agreement awards cover Adnoc's onshore and offshore fields and will run for five years with an option to extend for a further two years, the company said.
Skilled employment opportunities will be created for UAE citizens by the successful companies, which will also work to identify local manufacturing opportunities, it said.
Adnoc Drilling’s share of the awards is the largest, reflecting its expanded service profile as a result of its transformation into a fully integrated drilling services company after the award to US energy services company Baker Hughes of a 5 per cent share in the company in 2018, Adnoc said.
“The award to Adnoc Drilling demonstrates its robust offering and capabilities as well as its integral role in Adnoc's future drilling activities,” said Yaser Almazrouei, Adnoc Upstream's executive director.
“The awards to all four companies will deliver substantial in-country value and create new job opportunities for UAE nationals.”
The framework agreement awards will support Adnoc's requirement to drill thousands of new wells to expand its production capacity and remain a leading low-cost, low-carbon oil producer, it said.
They will also result in hundreds of millions of dollars in cost savings, the company said.
Adnoc Drilling's 2021 net profit increased 6 per cent to $604 million on the back of higher revenue as the company continues to support Adnoc’s efforts to grow its production capacity.
The, company which is the largest national drilling company in the Middle East by rig fleet size, attributed the rise in revenue to $2.27bn, from $2.09bn in 2020, to additional drilling services provided to Adnoc and its subsidiaries Adnoc Onshore and Adnoc Offshore.
Adnoc Drilling raised more than $1.1bn in September from its initial public offering on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, which was oversubscribed more than 31 times.
Adnoc remains Adnoc Drilling's majority shareholder, with an 84 per cent stake. Baker Hughes holds 5 per cent while US contract oil and gas driller Helmerich & Payne holds a 1 per cent stake.
In December, Adnoc Drilling signed a deal with Helmerich & Payne to improve the Abu Dhabi company’s land rig operational performance.
It also agreed on a five-year, $3.8bn contract in December with Adnoc Onshore for the continued provision of drilling, workovers and other well services that will drive work crew efficiency and improve rig move times and maintenance scheduling.
Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
Huroob Ezterari
Director: Ahmed Moussa
Starring: Ahmed El Sakka, Amir Karara, Ghada Adel and Moustafa Mohammed
Three stars
Where to buy art books in the UAE
There are a number of speciality art bookshops in the UAE.
In Dubai, The Lighthouse at Dubai Design District has a wonderfully curated selection of art and design books. Alserkal Avenue runs a pop-up shop at their A4 space, and host the art-book fair Fully Booked during Art Week in March. The Third Line, also in Alserkal Avenue, has a strong book-publishing arm and sells copies at its gallery. Kinokuniya, at Dubai Mall, has some good offerings within its broad selection, and you never know what you will find at the House of Prose in Jumeirah. Finally, all of Gulf Photo Plus’s photo books are available for sale at their show.
In Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi has a beautiful selection of catalogues and art books, and Magrudy’s – across the Emirates, but particularly at their NYU Abu Dhabi site – has a great selection in art, fiction and cultural theory.
In Sharjah, the Sharjah Art Museum sells catalogues and art books at its museum shop, and the Sharjah Art Foundation has a bookshop that offers reads on art, theory and cultural history.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
2252 - Dh50
6025 - Dh20
6027 - Dh100
6026 - Dh200
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
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Plan to boost public schools
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.
Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.
Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Teams in the EHL
White Bears, Al Ain Theebs, Dubai Mighty Camels, Abu Dhabi Storms, Abu Dhabi Scorpions and Vipers
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
Mobile phone packages comparison
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
