| Industry | Oil and Gas |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1971 |
| Headquarters | Sharjah, United Arab Emirates |
| Number of locations | UAE, UK, Iraq, Iran and affiliates in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain |
| Area served | worldwide |
| Key people | Hamid Jafar (Group Chairman) Majid Jafar (Chief Executive Officer) Badr Jafar (President) |
| Services | Oil and gas exploration, production and transport |
| Divisions | Crescent Petroleum Company Cresent Investments |
| Subsidiaries | Crescent Natural Gas Company Buttes Gas and Oil Gas Cities Limited |
| Website | www.crescent.ae |
Crescent Petroleum is a privately owned oil and gas company headquartered in the United Arab Emirates. It began operations in 1971 as the first independent and privately owned Middle Eastern petroleum company to engage in the acquisition, exploration and development of petroleum concessions. The company has its headquarters in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. Crescent Petroleum is also the largest private shareholder in Dana Gas, the first and largest publicly listed private-sector natural gas company in the Middle East.[1]
Contents |
Crescent petroleum traces its origins to Buttes Gas & Oil Co. International Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Crescent Petroleum. Buttes Gas & Oil Co. was the holder of a Concession granted in 1969 by the Government of Sharjah. Following offshore seismic work in 1971, the Mubarek Field discovery wildcat was drilled in 1972. Over the next decade, Crescent Petroleum identified several opportunities in the oil and gas sector across the world, that led to the company securing concessions in Argentina, Canada, France, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and the erstwhile Yugoslavia. By the late 1990s, additional concessions were procured in Egypt, Pakistan, Oman, and Yemen.[2]
Crescent Petroleum’s current major operations are in the UAE and in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, where along with its affiliate Dana Gas, it is the largest private investor in the local energy sector, investing over US$850 million and producing over 300 million cubic feet of gas and 14,000 barrels of condensate per day, enabling almost continuous electricity in the main cities of Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
In May 2010, Crescent Petroleum and the Russian government-owned oil company, Rosneft signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement to jointly develop material oil and gas opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa region. The following month, the two companies signed a Farm-Out agreement under the aegis of the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin. Under the terms of the agreement, both companies would jointly develop the Sharjah Onshore Concession, with Rosneft holding a 49% stake as participating interest. The two companies agreed to invest USD 60 billion in initial exploration activities which includes the drilling of two oil wells to a depth of 4,500 metres (14,800 ft). The project hopes to benefit from existing infrastructure in Sharjah to produce condensates and natural gas liquids that could be consumed domestically and exported internationally. The agreement also includes a budget for the development of local infrastructure while preserving the region’s natural ecosystems and terrain.[3]
The bonhomie between the Russian government and Crescent Petroleum was underscored in August 2010, after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hosted a high-level roundtable conference between senior executives of Crescent Petroleum and Russian industry senior executives. Putin applauded the pursuit of joint projects in the Middle East region and also welcomed Crescent's entry to the Russian markets.[4]
The first project handled by Crescent was the Mubarek Field off the coast of UAE. Within 13 months from the discovery confirmation well, the field was put on full production at a rate of over 60,000 barrels of oil per day, with the drilling of three additional wells, the installation of the processing platform, an additional well-head platform, export loading terminal, and associated support structures and pipelines. This was a world record at the time for bringing an offshore field on-stream from oil discovery. Crescent Petroleum has also earned several operational world records including the deepest short radius horizontal section drilled, and the deepest slim hole to be cased by expandable casing.[5] Since the start of production in 1974, the Mubarek Field has undergone several development phases. The initial phase of the development of Ilam/Mishrif oil reservoir, at a depth of 12,500 feet (3,800 m) was completed in 1977. Development of the Thamama gas condensate reservoir, at a depth of 15,500 feet (4,700 m), was started in 1987 for production of the gas and condensate.[6] A central gas processing facility was established in the early 1990s, and gas export to Jebel Ali through a 92 miles (148 km) offshore pipeline was constructed by Crescent Petroleum.[7] In late 2005, the company commenced a program of drilling further infill wells to increase production of petroleum.[8][9]
Crescent Petroleum also discovered the Zora Gas Field off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in 2001 and has drilled two horizontal wells which both tested positive for hydrocarbons.[10]
Crescent Petroleum has an offshore concession to Sir Abu Nu'ayr, an island owned by the Emirate of Sharjah, and its territorial seas. The area is known to have an abundant hydrocarbon basin. Crescent Petroleum was also granted a 1,243 square kilometres (480 sq mi) of acreage concession onshore Sharjah for hydrocarbon exploration, and has commenced extensive appraisal works within the block.[11]
The Gulf-South Asia Gas Project (GUSA) launched by Crescent in 1991 was the first workable project for producing, transmitting by pipeline and delivering natural gas from Qatar to Pakistan and eventually other parts of the Indian subcontinent. The GUSA Project comprises two main parts that will transport the gas 1,186 kilometres (737 mi) to Pakistan.[12]
Crescent Petroleum was instrumental in establishing Dana Gas PJSC, one of the first major private-sector natural gas resource enterprises in the Persian Gulf region. Dana Gas is engaged in the business of the ownership, transportation, processing, distribution, marketing and sale of natural gas and petroleum related products, including the development of gas-related projects and services in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia regions. Crescent Petroleum has a 21% stake in Dana Gas.[13] Crescent Petroleum, in a 50-50 joint venture with Dana Gas PJSC, has invested over US$ 700 million as of 2009 under a Strategic Alliance Protocol and a Petroleum Contract signed with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq in April 2007, making it the largest private-sector investment in Iraq in several decades.[14] As part of the project implementation, the primary phase was completed in 15 months, with the companies having installed a 180 kilometres (110 mi) gas pipeline across mountainous terrain that required the clearing of several minefields. In addition, upstream activities on seismic surveys and production wells were carried out, and new gas processing facilities were installed.[14] The initial primary phase gas production commenced in October 2008 at 90 million cubic feet per day, and is expected to rise in stages to 300 million cubic feet per day in late 2009, as the power plants become fully operational.[14] In May 2009, the companies announced a strategic partnership with OMV of Austria and MOL of Hungary who jointly announced their intention to invest a further USD 8 billion in this project and aim to carry excess gas produced into Turkey and also across Turkey into Europe as a source of gas for the Nabucco Pipeline Project.[14]
Crescent Petroleum is part of the Crescent Group of Companies which includes Crescent Petroleum Company International Limited, Gas Cities Limited, and Crescent Investments LLC, the Group's non-energy interests. The Chairman of the Group is Hamid Jafar, with his son Majid Jafar as Vice-Chairman of Crescent Group and CEO of Crescent Petroleum, and son Badr Jafar as Managing Director of Crescent Group, President of Crescent Petroleum and CEO of Crescent Investments.[15]