The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADNOC, announced on Wednesday – as part of Abu Dhabi’s block licensing strategy and on behalf of the Supreme Petroleum Council, SPC – the details of the second round of five new geographical oil and gas blocks open for bidding for both conventional and unconventional resources. The successful bidders will enter into agreements granting them exploration rights and, provided that defined targets are achieved in the exploration phase, will be granted the opportunity to develop and produce any discoveries, under terms that will be set out in the bid package. Abu Dhabi’s five new blocks open for bidding – three of which are offshore and two onshore – are known as Offshore Block 3, Offshore Block 4, Offshore Block 5, Onshore Block 5 and Onshore Block 2, with the latter offering two separate licensing opportunities for conventional and unconventional oil and gas, respectively. In total, the five blocks comprise an area of approximately 34,000 km2. This second licensing bid round follows the conclusion, in March, of the award of the blocks in Abu Dhabi’s highly successful debut competitive exploration and production bid round, which covered and area of approximately 30,000 km2 and generated significant interest from prospective international bidders, reinforcing the international community’s confidence in the UAE’s trusted and reliable investment environment. The blocks in the first licensing bid round and this second bid round collectively cover approximately two-thirds of Abu Dhabi’s territory, marking a major advancement in how Abu Dhabi is accelerating the exploration and development of its huge untapped resource potential, outside the immediate production areas. The second licensing bid round offers new areas with significant amounts of conventional and unconventional oil and gas potential. In addition, one of the blocks offered – Offshore Block 3 – is, area-wise, the largest block offered by Abu Dhabi in both the 2018 and 2019 block bid rounds, with an area of more than 11,000 km2. Dr. Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, said, "The launch of Abu Dhabi’s second licensing bid round builds on the momentum of the first and very successful competitive bid round. It demonstrates how ADNOC’s expanded approach to partnerships is enabling us to utilize value-add partnerships and smart technologies to drive new commercial opportunities and efficiently accelerate the exploration and development of Abu Dhabi’s untapped resources, in line with the leadership’s directives. "This second bid round provides the next major opportunity for both new and existing partners, with best-in-class exploration technology and expertise, to join us in further unlocking Abu Dhabi’s substantial hydrocarbon resources in the UAE’s trusted and reliable investment environment. It signals both Abu Dhabi’s and ADNOC’s ongoing drive to realize the potential of our resource base to remain a long-term and reliable energy provider to the world," he added.