ABU Dhabi government-owned International Petroleum Investment Co (Ipic) has discussed potential investment opportunities in North Africa and the Mediterranean region.

Ipic, which was aiming to double its investment portfolio to $40 billion in the next five years, did not give details of planned acquisitions.
“The board looked at the first half results of the company and the implementation of its projects as well as the opportunities for investment in a number of countries including in North Africa and the Mediterranean,” Ipic says.
Ipic invests in oil-related projects for the government of Abu Dhabi.
Ipic has stakes in several international oil and gas companies and has been expanding rapidly, particularly in the Mediterranean region.
In June, Ipic’s board approved plans for a new refinery in Morocco. Ipic has approved plans to develop a refinery at Jorf Lasfar on Morocco’s west coast.
The refinery is likely to have a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) and involve a capital cost of about $5 billion. It will provide refined products for the local market.
No decision has yet been made over the source of the crude oil for the refinery.
However, given Ipic’s relationship with Abu Dhabi, oil is most likely to be shipped from the Gulf emirate, according to sources involved in the project
UK-based consultant Wood Mackenzie is soon to complete a feasibility study of the refinery. Ipic will then invite competitive bids for the front-end engineering and design element later this year. The refinery is due to be commissioned in 2013.
The Abu Dhabi firm is also seeking a technical partner, such as an international oil company, to take a stake in the project.
Industry observers cite the US’ Occidental Petroleum as a potential partner. Earlier this year, Occidental signed an agreement with Ipic to develop upstream and downstream projects in the region.
The sources say that whoever is selected as a partner, the Moroccan government will not be involved.
Morocco has only one world-scale refinery at Mohammedia, operated by Societe Anonyme Marocaine de l’Industrie du Raffinage (Samir). The 126,000-bpd refinery is being upgraded after a fire caused extensive damage in 2002.
Meanwhile, Ipic has acquired a 2-per cent stake in leading Portuguese power company Energias de Portugal as part of an agreement on the development of potential cooperation in the electricity and gas sector.
In a statement to the Portuguese Securities Commission (CMVM), EDP says Ipic held 71.3 million of its shares.
EDP says the cooperation with Ipic is of a non-exclusive nature. The Abu Dhabi company says the “acquisition forms part of Ipic’s current diversification plans.”
EDP says it and Ipic are looking for development opportunities in the field of conventional and renewable energy generation in the Middle East, North Africa and the broader Asian region. Ipic will also help establishing contacts between EDP and leading gas producers in the Middle East.
EDP is preparing to list its EDP Renováveis unit, the holding company for its renewable energy subsidiaries NEO Energia and Horizon Wind Energy, by selling between 20 and 25 per cent of its capital in an initial public share offering.