$10 Bn Oil Deal in UAE

ConocoPhillips Close to $10 Billion U.A.E gas project, FT says.

By Khaleeq Ahmed
April 22 (Bloomberg) -- ConocoPhillips is near a deal to work with Abu Dhabi's National Oil Co. on its $10 billion sour gas project, the Financial Times reported, citing ConocoPhillips Chief Executive Officer Jim Mulva.

An announcement could be made within two months, according to Mulva, the newspaper said. Royal Dutch Shell Inc. and Occidental Petroleum Corp. had been front-runners for the contract, though Occidental has been advised in recent months it isn't a finalist, the FT reported.

International oil companies like ConocoPhillips are facing difficulties gaining access to new resources amid increasing nationalism in oil-rich countries, the FT said.

If ConocoPhillips secures the project with Adnoc, as the company is called, it would be better placed to win other contracts in the United Arab Emirates, the world's fifth-largest holder of gas reserves, the paper said.

For related news: Stories on Adnoc: {158443Z UH CN}


--Editors: Elizabeth Wollman, Colin Keatinge


To contact the reporter on this story:
Khaleeq Ahmed in San Francisco at +1-650-745-5599 or
kkhan8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Elizabeth Wollman at +1-415-617-7138 or ewollman@bloomberg.net