Austria's OMV, Abu Dhabi said to plan oil deal in late April

The agreement after months of negotiations will be signed in Abu Dhabi, the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are confidential. An Adnoc media official and an OMV spokesman declined to comment.

Adnoc, which produces almost all of the United Arab Emirates’s oil, has been awarding new concessions to foreign investors to gain access to technology and finance and to secure markets for its crude. The remaining stake left to be awarded is 20% of Umm Lulu and Sateh Al Razboot oil fields in the Gulf. In February, Spain’s Cia Espanolade Petroleos SA agreed to pay $1.5 billion for a 20% stake in development rights for the same fields.

Previous winning bidders for stakes in Adnoc’s assets include India’s state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corp. and China National Petroleum Corp.

OMV would be the second company with links to Abu Dhabi to win a stake in the sheikhdom’s fields. OMV’s second-largest shareholder is Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s state-run investment company. Spain’s Cepsa is wholly owned by Mubadala. Austria owns 31.5% of OMV.