Total, a French multinational integrated oil and gas company, is set to mark 75 years of presence in the UAE, its largest base in the Middle East, with the renewal of its license in Adco next year.

The firm is involved in eight hydrocarbon ventures in the UAE and its current production is estimated at 0.5 billion cu ft of gas and around 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, a statement said.

Total is most active in the UAE, where it is present in E&P, LNG, petrochemicals and solar power sectors, while it is also integrated in Qatar, Yemen, Oman, the company said in papers presented at a recent seminar in Paris.

The company also said it is has representative offices in Saudi Arabia, Iran and Kuwait and it is also operating in Syria and in the downstream sector in Jordan and Lebanon.

It said Total has a 9.5 per cent stake in Adco, and the Adma licence comes up for renewal in 2018 along with the licence for Total ABK.

It is also partners in Gasco, a venture extracting added value from Abu Dhabi’s condensates production, in Adgas, the first LNG project on Das Island, it said.

It said other major projects include Dolphin Energy; the Taweelah electricity and desalinated water plant; the fertiliser production complex Fertil; and the recently inaugurated Shams 1, the largest CSP plant in operation in the world.

The papers showed Total’s average Middle East production is around 550,000 bpd in 2013, or 25 per cent of the company’s total global production.

Total noted that its exploration strategy has become bolder but it carries more potential. It said that in 2013 it has 16 ‘elephant’ projects under way, a record, and this year it will drill 7 billion barrels of ‘risked exploration potential'.

Turning to hydrocarbon resources in the world, Total estimated them at around 3.500 billion barrels, or 100 years of supply at present consumption levels. An estimated total of 1,200 billion barrels of oil have been produced to date, it said.

“Hydrocarbon resources may be substantial but there remains the challenge of producing these reserves. Comparing total output in 2005 with 2010 shows that oil production has actually declined by around 35 million bpd due to oilfields maturing; another 50 million bpd of production, therefore, has to be found and brought to market, equivalent to 250 large projects or ‘five Saudi Arabias’,” Total said.

“Huge investment is needed in oil production between now and 2025. A significant amount of this production will come from unconventional resources. The high production of resources needed requires a break-even crude price of at least $90....significant investment in oil production is necessary because of the volume needed and because consumer prices and operating costs have more than doubled,” the company said. - TradeArabia News Service