China Hones New Pitch for Abu Dhabi Oil

Western oil majors have perfected a pitch when it comes to keeping their place in Abu Dhabi concessions, vouching for their technology and expertise that, it is implied, newcomers lack.

Now with a little more than a year to go until a prized concession expires, the biggest newcomer of all - China - is responding with a similar narrative.

Take, for example, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), which submitted prequalification papers to bid in Abu Dhabi's biggest concession and is also studying prospects for seven undeveloped blocks.

"For the United Arab Emirates, there's vast resources of oil and gas, and for CNPC, we have our unique technologies," said Wang Hongtao, a deputy director general.

Chinese oil companies are trying to change their image as second-tier players with a shift in their strategy in pursuing foreign assets. Once upon a time, majors such as Sinopec ventured to places where many western majors couldn't go because of sanctions or a lack of security, such as Sudan.

Today, China is buying into Canadian assets through China National Offshore Oil Corporation's proposed US$15.1 billion (Dh55.46bn) takeover of Nexen.

Yet Asian majors - in Japan and South Korea as well as China - realise they have an uphill battle in crafting an image of technological prowess.

The advantage for Asian players is their willingness to accept a lower rate of return, particularly in the Adco concession due to expire in January 2014.

Western majors maintain that they can offer a total package that is more valuable than a lower bid.

"Many times we'll go talk to governments and NOCs [national oil companies] and they'll say, 'we need somebody who's going to train people and we want to maximise recovery,' and then do a tender and pick whoever has the lowest bid," said Frank Kemnetz, a vice president at ExxonMobil Upstream Ventures.