Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announced Tuesday that it has set up six regions to explore, develop and produce oil and gas through a competitive bid in the UAE capital as part of Abu Dhabis new zone licensing strategy. It came as part of Abu Dhabis first ever block licensing strategy and on behalf of the Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC). This followed the announcement last month by Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, that Abu Dhabi was to launch its first ever competitive exploration and production bid round. The licensing strategy represents a major advance in how Abu Dhabi unlocks new opportunities and maximizes value from its hydrocarbon resources. It is also consistent with ADNOCs approach to expanding its strategic partnerships across all areas of its business. The successful bidders will enter into agreements granting exploration rights and, provided defined targets are achieved in the exploration phase, opportunity to develop and produce any discoveries with ADNOC under terms that will be set out in the bidding package, according to the information revealed during the press conference, which was held in the company’s headquarters. “The launch of these large new licensing blocks is an important step for Abu Dhabi and ADNOC as we develop and apply new strategies to realize the full potential of our resources, maximize value through competitive bidding and accelerate the exploration and development of new commercial opportunities,” said Al Jaber. "This approach is central to our expanded partnership strategy, which aims to introduce new opportunities as we broaden and diversify our partnership base,” he added. “In addition, as we begin to expand our downstream portfolio, the new licensing blocks reinforce our long-term production growth ambitions and builds on our successful legacy as a leading upstream player. This is a rare and exciting opportunity, for both existing and new partners, in a secure and stable investment environment," Al Jaber further noted. The UAE is the worlds seventh-largest oil producer, with about 96 percent of its reserves within the emirate of Abu Dhabi; located in one of the worlds largest hydrocarbon super-basins, there remains undiscovered and undeveloped potential in the numerous stacked reservoirs. “We, at ADNOC, are committed to a business model that might be different as we are committed to reducing our costs, benefiting from our hydrocarbon resources and increasing the economic revenues and added value of this reservoir, and we work to achieve the strategic objectives through this model,” Al Jaber responded to Asharq Al-Awsat’s question in regards to the expectations of the demand for licensing by international companies in light of volatile oil prices and the feasibility of exploration and the ability of these projects to reduce the cost. “As soon as we came up with an idea about this initiative at a conference in Houston last month, many of our existing partners, some of which are still new, were enthusiastic and thats why we rushed to announce these licenses”.