As if the Permian wasn’t enough, EOG Resources just picked up a juicy new onshore shale block in Abu Dhabi. Announced Friday, the U.S. shale heavyweight secured full operatorship of Unconventional Onshore Block 3 (UCO3), a nearly 900,000-acre stretch of oil-prone rock in the Al Dhafra region, smack in the middle of one of the most watched oil basins in the world.
The block sits in an over-pressured basin—code for “this thing could gush if we get it right”—and EOG is wasting no time. Drilling is slated for the second half of 2025, though the company insists its 2025 capital plan won’t budge. ADNOC, the UAE’s national oil firm, will play wingman for the exploration phase, and then possibly tag in with a stake if things go commercial.
This move comes hot on the heels of President Trump’s big-money tour of the Gulf, where the U.S. and UAE pledged a dizzying $440 billion in energy investments through 2035. EOG’s play isn’t technically part of that pot—but the timing sure makes it look like it’s riding the same wave of petro-diplomacy and shale swagger.
Ezra Yacob, EOG’s CEO, said the company is “excited” about the basin’s horizontal development potential. Translation: they see a Permian-style bonanza under the sand, and they’re not afraid to frack it.
Whether EOG can replicate its Texas magic on foreign turf remains to be seen, but one thing’s certain—between AI campuses, hydrogen mega-projects, and now a shale push in the UAE, the U.S.-Gulf energy bromance is back in full swing.
Earlier this month, EOG Resources reported solid Q1 adjusted net income of $1.6 billion with $1.3 billion of free cash flow.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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