Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) said on Saturday it awarded a consortium formed by Italian oil major Eni and Thailand’s PTTEP two offshore exploration blocks. Eni will be the operator of the blocks, holding together with PTTEP a 100% stake in the exploration phase for oil and gas, the national oil company said in a statement. The two foreign companies will invest at least USD230mn in the exploration phase and ADNOC has the option to hold a 60% stake in the production phase, if a commercial discovery is made, it said. The two blocks in the northwest of Abu Dhabi – Offshore 1 and Offshore 2 – are the first blocks to be awarded from the areas offered for commercial bidding by ADNOC in April 2018, the company said in the statement. In November, ADNOC granted Eni a 40-year concession, awarding it a 25% stake in its offshore ultra-sour gas mega project.