Total wins share of new Abu Dhabi concession

PARIS (Reuters) - Total (TOTF.PA) has signed an agreement to take a 10 percent stake in a new 40-year onshore concession in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the French oil group said on Thursday.

Nine Asian and western firms had bid for stakes in the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO) concession after a deal with western oil majors dating back to the 1970s expired in January 2014.

The new concession was effective from Jan. 1, 2015, and covers Abu Dhabi's 15 principal onshore oil fields that represent more than half of the Emirate's production, Total said in a statement.

"Total is honoured to be the first International Oil Company to be chosen ... to participate in this new onshore concession and to be entrusted with the mission of technical leader on two major groups of fields," Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne said in the statement.

Financial details were not disclosed.

Four of the world's largest listed energy companies -- ExxonMobil (XOM.N), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), Total and BP (BP.L) -- had each held 9.5 percent equity stakes in the ADCO concession since the 1970s and were keen to prolong their involvement.

Last year, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) took 100 percent of the ADCO concession as a temporary measure while political leaders in the UAE capital decided whether to let big Asian oil buyers in for the long-haul.

ADCO is expected to produce around 1.6 million barrels of oil per day in 2015 and has a target of 1.8 million from 2017, Total said.

The French oil major has stakes in several other energy concessions and companies in Abu Dhabi, including a 75 percent stake in the Abu Al Bu Khoosh field that it operates, and a 13.3 percent stake in Abu Dhabi Marine (ADMA), which runs two offshore fields.

(Reporting by Michel Rose and Gus Trompiz; Editing by Mark Potter)