Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), US giant ExxonMobil and Japan Oil Development Company (JODCO), a subsidiary of Inpex, have agreed on a landmark phased development plan to expand the production capacity of Upper Zakum, the world’s second-largest offshore oilfield.
Emirati state giant Adnoc is expanding the capacity of some of its largest offshore oilfields as part of its P5 programme, which aims by 2027 to ramp up its oil production capacity to 5 million barrels per day, from the existing 4.85 million bpd.
The new development plan at Upper Zakum “will upgrade the oil field’s infrastructure to include AI-enabled remote operations, receive power from the UAE’s clean energy grid to reduce emissions and enable the use of artificial islands for drilling activities to enhance environmental protection”, Inpex said on Monday.