ADNOC begins drilling at EOG Resources shale block in the UAE

ABU DHABI, September 3, 2025 – ADNOC has begun drilling horizontal wells and testing oil to the surface at a shale block operated by EOG Resources in the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

The announcement was made by EOG Resources’ chairman and CEO, Ezra Yacob, at the Barclays CEO Energy-Power Conference in New York.

In May 2025, EOG Resources was awarded the oil exploration concession for Unconventional Onshore Block 3 (UCO3), an over-pressured, oil-prone basin covering 3,609 square kilometres, with plans to begin drilling operations with ADNOC to explore and appraise the block’s oil resources in the second half of the year.

EOG Resources, which holds 100% interest in the block, indicated at the time that the appraisal phase would last three years, following which the company would potentially enter a production phase in which ADNOC has the option to participate.

Houston-based EOG Resources is a US independent oil and gas E&P company. It operates primarily in the USA but has an international footprint that includes upstream activities in Trinidad and Tobago, the UAE, Bahrain and Australia.

In May 2025, the company confirmed an oil discovery at the Beryl well in the TSP Deep Area offshore Trinidad and achieved first gas at the offshore Mento development, which it operates in joint venture with bp Trinidad and Tobago.

In Bahrain, the company signed a PSC with Bapco Energies in August 2025 for the Jaubah and Pre-Tawil gas assets.

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