The Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (Adco) operates onshore and in the shallow coastal waters of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The original concession agreement for oil exploration and production in what was then the Trucial States was signed on January 11, 1939 with Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast).

However, geological work did not begin until after the Second World War.

Exploratory drilling began in Abu Dhabi in February, 1960.

The first commercial oil discovery was made at Bab in 1960 and exports began from Jebel Dhanna Terminal on 14 December 1963.

Meanwhile in 1962 the company was renamed the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Company (ADPC).

On January 1, 1973, the Government of Abu Dhabi acquired a 25 per cent interest in ADPC, which was increased to 60 per cent as of January 1, 1974.

The Abu Dhabi Government interest is administered today by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc).

The other shareholders in Adco are BP Amoco, Shell and TotalFinaElf with a 9.5 per cent shareholding each, ExxonMobil and Mobil with 4.75 per cent each and Partex with two per cent.

Adco was incorporated on November 8, 1978 and has been responsible for operations in the concession area since February 1979.

The concession area, after relinquishments, now covers more than 21,000 sq km.

Adco mainly produces from five oilfields, namely Asab, Bab, Bu Hasa, Sahil and Shah. The fields are linked by more than 450 km of pipelines culminating with storage and shipping facilities at Jebel Dhanna Terminal.

A sixth field, Jarn Yaphour, situated 50 km east of the capital, came on-line in late 1993 with its production being transported to Umm Al-Nar Refinery for treatment.

An early production system for the other North East fields, Rumaitha, Shanayel and Dabbi'ya, was commissioned in 1994.

Water injection is used in the Asab, Bab, Bu Hasa and Sahil fields to maintain reservoir pressure and optimize recovery while gas injection systems are also used in the Bab and Bu Hasa fields.

Complete oilfield development projects for Bab and for Sahil were completed in 1993 and 1998 respectively.

Adco's 1998 exploration programme continued to emphasise the evaluation of the hydrocarbon potential in the frontier areas, the delineation of the proven deposits and assessment of the potential of the deep reservoirs.

Adco also increased the number of land rigs in operation to 12.

These rigs are owned by National Drilling Company, another Adnoc Group company, and are engaged in exploration and development drilling and workover operations.

In 1999, the Asab Gas Gathering and Injection Project was launched, encompassing many related processes such as the Asab infrastructure facilities and additional power generation and transmission projects.

This project linkage has demonstrated how the Adnoc Group of companies can work together sharing services and infrastructure.

Adco's new head office building was inaugurated in 1998 while the Asab and Jebel Dhanna office and accommodation upgrades were completed in 2000.

Last year, the two Asab frame six generator project was completed as was the Shah well infill project.