DUBAI, Aug 7: The Gulf emirate of Dubai said on Monday that it would take back operating control of its offshore oilfields next year from US oil and gas giant Conoco Phillips, ending a 45-year partnership.

In a joint statement, Dubai authorities and Conoco Phillips' wholly owned subsidiary Dubai Petroleum Company (DPC) said the handover would take place on April 2, 2007.

Dubai, which is part of the United Arab Emirates, granted the oil concession in 1961 to DPC, which is part of the wider DPC/Dubai Marine Areas Ltd consortium.

The consortium also involves interests from Total of France, Spain's Repsol YPF, and subsidiaries of the German groups RWE AG and BASF.

“This relationship has served Dubai well over the years,” said Abdulla Abdul Karim, a Dubai government representative, adding that it had helped transform the country.

“Forty years later, it is clear that production will now far outlast the period of the concession agreement, and all parties agree that it is appropriate to initiate a transition of operatorship to the government at this time and to begin a new era,” he said.

Dubai oil will continue to be freely traded in the international oil market under contracts established by the government and Dubai Petroleum Establishment (DPE), a new entity wholly owned by the Dubai authorities, the statement said.

Bill Arnold, the head of DPC, said that the company thanked Dubai authorities for the “unique opportunity we have had to be involved in the growth and success that Dubai has experienced over the last 40 years. DPC will do its part to successfully facilitate the handover of the operations to the government,” he said.

Dubai's four offshore fields -- Fateh, southwest Fateh, Rashid and Falah -- will be operated on behalf of DPE by the international oil services group Petrofac, the statement said.

The government move will “give Dubai the freedom to increase its oil reserves,” commented the Al-Bayan newspaper.

Citing official figures, the newspaper said Dubai's oil production fell from 350,000 barrels a day in 1995 to 140,000 barrels a day in 2005.

The emirate's confirmed oil reserves are four billion barrels, and 117 billion cubic metres of gas, noted Al-Bayan.

Overall, the UAE is currently the fifth-placed producer of crude oil within the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). —AFP