ABU DHABI - The Japanese Ventures.

Among foreign countries, Japan has become the third biggest E&P investor in Abu Dhabi. The importance of its role in upstream development, next to that of ADCO and ADMA-OPCO, will have major marketing dimensions later on in this decade when Asian demand for Abu Dhabi oil will have risen considerably.

Japan already is the biggest buyer of Abu Dhabi oil and gas liquids, with Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco) taking the bulk of the Das complex's LNG and most of the LPG produced on that island. The UAE is Japan's main source of oil. Japan's second biggest source, Saudi Arabia, supplies about 900,000 b/d.

There are now seven oil producing ventures in Abu Dhabi, all offshore, involving important players in the Japanese market:

The Japan Oil Development Co. (JODCO) has 12% in each of ADMA-OPCO and the Upper Zakum's ZADCO (as explained on previous pages). It is ADNOC's partner in two other oil producing JVs: Umm Al Dalkh and Satah. Both ventures are called Umm Al Dalkh Development Co. (UDECO).

To cut costs, UDECO and ZADCO were in January 1988 merged into a single unit under the ZADCO name, with ZADCO also operating the Arzanah field. JODCO groups some of Japan's trading giants such as Mitsubishi Corp., Mitsui & Co., Itochu and Sumitomo. JODCO's customers include both shareholders and other refiners like Cosmo Oil, Japan Energy Corp., Nippon Oil and Idemitsu. The main shareholder in JODCO is the state-owned Japan National Oil Corp. (JNOC), an offshoot of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry . But JNOC is being disbanded and only a small version of the company will survive.

Umm Al Dalkh, 18 km long and 7 km wide, went on stream in 1985, producing 25,000 b/d of 32.5 deg. API oil, 1.6% sulphur, from Mishrif carbonates. The field, close to Abu Dhabi City, was discovered in 1968 by ADMA.

Satah, 20 km north of Arzanah, near the median waters with Qatar, went on stream in mid-1987 and produces 25,000 b/d of 39.8 deg. API oil from Arab C-D carbonates. It also produces gas. It was discovered in 1975 by ADMA. The field's production is expected to fall to 18,000 b/d in the coming years.

Zirku island is used as a base for processing the Umm Al Dalkh and Satah fields' crude oils and as a loading terminal. Umm Al Dalkh has 16 well-head platforms interconnected with a central production complex. After primary processing at this complex, the crude is pumped to the ZADCO central complex where it is mixed with Upper Zakum crude and sent to Zirku Island.

Satah crude is gathered at a production manifold platform and routed to the processing plant at Zirku. The processed crude is then mixed with Upper Zakum and Umm Al Dalkh crudes for export.

Zirku island, about 65 km from the Upper Zakum central complex, also has residential facilities, a residence for the ruler's representative, an amenities' centre, a mosque, offices, a police station, a fire station, workshops, a modern airport and a jetty to receive supply boats.

Abu Dhabi Oil Company (ADOC) is a consortium formed in 1967 of the then companies Maruzen Oil, Daikyo Oil and Nippon Mining - which have since been merged into different entities. It acquired an offshore concession that was relinquished by Phillips/AGIP. In 1969, ADOC discovered Mubarraz, a narrow 40-km long field trending north/north-east where an island carries this name.

Mubarraz went on stream in 1973 producing 33-41 deg. API oils, with 1.2-1.8% sulphur from Thamama carbonates, and gas from an Arab reservoir. Its sustainable capacity is 20,000 b/d, and oil reserves in place at the field are said to exceed 1 bn barrels. The field also produces condensate.

Maruzen oil and Daikyo oil merged into Cosmo Oil in recent years as part of restructuring in Japan's refining industry. JNOC joined ADOC as a share-holder.

ADOC discoveries include: Rumaitha (1969), a 10x4 km field containing 40 deg. API oil in Thamama carbonates; West Mubarraz A-1 (1981) and WMB-1 (1983), both fields containing 37-40 deg. API oil in Arab carbonates; and Umm Al Anbar (1982) containing similar oil and developed by Mubarraz Oil Co. (MOCO)

MOCO, an operating arm of ADOC, produces Umm Al Anbar field which went on stream in February 1989 at the rate of 8,000 b/d. But this fell to 5,000 b/d in 1991. Located about 50 km west of Mubarraz, the field extends to ADOC's WME-1 discovery well which the company drilled in 1983 about 4 km south of Umm Al Anbar. In early November 1991 MOCO announced three "encouraging" discoveries in this area.

MOCO blends its output as well as that of West Mubarraz with the production of the first Mubarraz field.

ADOC-Ga Co. was formed in March 1990 as a joint venture between Cosmo Oil, Nippon Mining (now partly within Japan Energy Corp.) and JNOC. Together these own 100% of the concession.

ADOC-GA has developed the Neewat Al Ghalan structure. The field is 7 km north-west of Mubarraz island and the acreage is 40 sq km. In addition, Cosmo Oil and other Japanese companies are seeking concessions in Abu Dhabi. Al Bunduq Oil Co. is producing an offshore field shared equally by Abu Dhabi and Qatar. This company is owned equally by United Petroleum Development (UPD) of Japan, BP and TotalFinaElf. UPD is the operator. Al Bunduq has a capacity of 30,000 b/d dependent on an EOR system. A new EOR unit to inject 40 MCF/d of gas into the field is to be completed late in 2003.