Mubadala teams up with Occidental, Woodside for exploration of promising blocks in the North African country
Abu Dhabi, February 01, 2005 The Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Development Company is upbeat on expanding its oil & gas global portfolio after its wholly owned subsidiary - Liwa Energy Ltd - was awarded, in partnership with US Occidental Petroleum and Australia´s Woodside Petroleum, a share in nine exploration blocks out of the 15 offered by Libya in the EPSA IV bid round.
A total of 15 licenses were offered for offshore and onshore blocks in the first licensing round of the widely anticipated exploration and production sharing agreements (EPSA IV) launched by Libya.
"The success in Libya is in line with our objective to expand Mubadala's oil & gas portfolio in the region and internationally. We look forward to develop further business opportunities in Libya." Said His Excellency Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Member of Abu Dhabi's Executive Council and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Mubadala Development Company, as he described the company's venture, the first by a UAE company, into the promising Libyan oil and gas sector.
Occidental, Woodside and Mubadala emerged as major winners in the bid round; the offshore consortium led by Woodside was awarded 4 blocks (out of six) and the onshore consortium led by Occidental was awarded 5 blocks (out of nine). More than 60 international oil companies (IOCs) including most of the US and European majors submitted bids for the 15 EPSAs offered by National Oil Corporation (NOC).
Libya has the world's eighth largest proved oil reserves of 36 billion barrels and 1.3 trillion cubic meter natural gas reserves. Its high quality, sweet crude, ideal for gasoline production, meets a very high demand among consumers. Libya's proximity to Europe and US oil markets is yet another advantage for its oil exports.
