Abu Dhabi approves Adnoc’s $132bn five-year budget

04 November 2018
State energy company commits to raising oil and gas production as part of its new five-year business plan

The government of Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) has approved Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (Adnoc) streamlined business plan and given approval for the oil company's five-year capital expenditure (capex) plan of $132.3bn between 2019-2023.

The five-year investment plan will assist with the emirate's goal of reaching an oil production capacity of 4 million barrels a day (b/d) by the end of 2020 and 5 million b/d by the end of 2030. Another key facet of Adnoc's latest plan is a new strategy to make the emirate self-sufficient in gas.

The SPC also announced new discoveries of 1 billion barrels of oil in place and 15 trillion standard cubic feet of gas in place.

Adnoc’s gas strategy looks at sustaining liquefied natural gas (LNG) output through to 2040, and tapping into gas-to-chemicals opportunities. Backed by the new discoveries, Adnoc’s new gas policy aims to achieve gas self-sufficiency for the UAE, and hopes to potentially transform the country into a net gas exporter.

Adnoc is currently in the decisive phase of its first-ever upstream licensing round process, in which it has offered six oil and gas blocks for partnership opportunities to international players.

The SPC will evaluate the bids received for the four onshore and two offshore blocks, and is set to announce the respective winners in the first quarter of 2019.

Under the new gas strategy, Adnoc will develop the Hail, Ghasha and Dalma project that taps into Abu Dhabi’s Arab formation, which is estimated to hold multiple trillions of cubic feet of recoverable gas. The project is expected to produce more than 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas a day.

Adnoc will also unlock other sources of gas, which include the emirate's gas caps and unconventional gas reserves, as well as new natural gas accumulations, which will continue to be appraised and developed as the company pursues its exploration activities, it said in its statement.

Included in Adnoc's five-year capex plan is its $45bn downstream investment drive to convert the Ruwais industrial facility into a global downstream hub, and treble Abu Dhabi’s petrochemical production to 14.4 million tonnes a year by 2025.

The new business plan "will have a significant impact on the nation’s economy, with Adnoc’s In-Country Value (ICV) programme helping to drive domestic growth and diversification over an extended period of time", it said in its statement.

"The benefits will include creating employment opportunities for UAE nationals and maximising the use of local products, manufacturing and assembly facilities, services and infrastructure," it added.

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