H.E. Yousef Omair bin Yousef, Secretary General of the Supreme Petroleum Council and CEO of ADNOC, attended the 40th anniversary celebrations of Abu Dhabi Oil Co. (ADOC),Ltd (Japan) on 15th April 2008 at Intercontinental Hotel.

After welcoming at the entrance, ADOC President Mr. Kazuhisa Tamura and Mr. H. Noichi, ADOC’s Representative and General Manager, gave His Excellency a tour of the photo show illustrating ADOC’s 40 year’s history and operations in Abu Dhabi.

In a welcoming speech on the occasion, ADOC President Mr. Kazuhisa Tamura expressed his delight at the presence of so many esteemed dignitaries from ADNOC, the oil community and other sectors in ADOC’s 40th anniversary ceremony.

Looking back at ADOC’s tandem development with the UAE, Mr. Tamura said that ADOC, the first Japanese company to come to Abu Dhabi 40 years ago, witnessed the UAE in its early days when country was not very developed and had only a few modest buildings.

He cited that ADOC watched the UAE become one of the most rapidly growing countries in the world in a few decades thanks to the unprecedented leadership of the founding father of the country, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

“This wise leadership has been succeeded by President H.H. Sh. Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is spearheading the march towards further success and progress,” he added.

ADOC history began when on 6th December 1967, three Japanese refining companies, namely, Maruzen Oil Co., Ltd., Daikyo Oil Co., Ltd. (which later merged into Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd.) and Nippon Mining Co., Ltd. (currently known as Japan Energy Corporation) were granted the concession for Mubarraz and Dalma areas by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, in his capacity as Ruler of Abu Dhabi at the time. But in an effort to execute smooth operations of oil development activities under the concession, the three companies jointly established ADOC on 17th January 1968.

Mr. Tamura noted that the supplementary concession for West Mubarraz area was later granted by Abu Dhabi Government, making ADOC in charge of the operation of its current three fields, Mubarraz Field, Umm Al Anbar Field and Neewat Al Ghalan Field.

“And despite the intrinsic difficulties in development activities due to thin reservoirs, low productivity, associated sour gas, etc., ADOC is conducting delicate operations in these fields by utilizing its own technology accumulated over the past 40 years,” Mr. Tamura said.

He reiterated that the company’s success was solely attributable to the continuous support by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and to President H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan as well as H.H. General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

He also lauded the support the company receives from the esteemed members of SPC represented by H.E. Yousef Omair bin Yousef, the fruitful technical support of ADNOC’s management and staff in addition to the positive role of the Japanese Government and ADOC shareholders.

He emphasized that environmental awareness was one of the major policies that ADOC has to challenge and in 2000, as a pioneer in the Gulf Area, ADOC introduced the sour gas injection technology through a project entitled “Sour Gas Injection Project”.

“Under this project, ADOC is executing stable operations by tackling the environment protection and enhancement of oil recovery. It was certainly a great privilege and honour that with this project, ADOC was awarded the Supreme Winner of “ADNOC HSE Award 2000” which triggered other OPCOs to employ this technology under the wise directives of H.E. Yousef Omair bin Yousef. ADOC is firmly determined in tackling environment activities including plantation of mangrove, protection of endangered Ospreys, propagation of sea grass, etc.

“As Chairmanship of the Japanese Community in Abu Dhabi and as Secretariat of the UAE-Japan Society, another invaluable asset for ADOC is the existing good relations between both countries cultivated over the years and ADOC is bridging the two countries through cultural, educational and academic interchange, which we will continue to do in order to strengthen further the existing amicable bilateral relations.

“Lastly, on the commemorative milestone of the 40th anniversary of ADOC’s establishment, let me reiterate ADOC’s firm determination to exert its best efforts towards safe and stable operations, environment activities, investment and maintenance of the aged facilities and support for cultural and educational activities so that ADOC will be able to grow and survive in Abu Dhabi for many more years to come. In this regard, your kind support to ADOC would be deeply appreciated.”

Later, the audience watched movies, slides, photos and environment panels to reflect on ADOC’s successful journey.