Latham & Watkins Advises on TotalEnergies Acquisition of CEPSA’s Upstream Assets in Abu Dhabi

Latham & Watkins has advised TotalEnergies on an agreement with CEPSA to acquire CEPSA’s upstream assets in the United Arab Emirates with an effective date of January 1, 2023. The assets to be acquired are:

• a 20% participating interest in the Satah Al Razboot (SARB), Umm Lulu, Bin Nasher and Al Bateel (SARB and Umm Lulu) offshore concession. The SARB and Umm Lulu concession includes two major offshore fields. ADNOC holds a 60% interest in this concession, alongside OMV (20%). The concession is operated by ADNOC Offshore. 
• a 12.88% indirect interest in the Mubarraz concession held by Abu Dhabi Oil Company Ltd (ADOC), through the acquisition of 20% of Cosmo Abu Dhabi Energy Exploration & Production Co. Ltd (CEPAD), a company holding a 64.4% interest in ADOC. The Mubarraz concession is comprised of four producing offshore fields.

The SARB and Umm Lulu transaction and the Mubarraz transaction are subject to satisfaction of customary conditions precedent and final approvals.  The transaction strengthens TotalEnergies’ long-established presence in Abu Dhabi.

The multi-jurisdictional Latham team was led by London corporate partner Simon Tysoe, with associates Becky Wee and Conor Nolan. Additional advice was provided by London tax partner Sean Finn with associate Aoife McCabe; Paris antitrust partner Adrien Giraud; Brussels associate Romain Perrois; Madrid corporate partners Ignacio Pallares and Maria Jose Descalzo with associate Carmen Esteban; Dubai corporate partner Chris Lester; and Tokyo corporate partner Hiroki Kobayashi with associate Takatomo Terasaki.