Abu Dhabi to Focus on its Unconventional Gas

State owned oil and gas company Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) plans to invest over $100bn over the next five years as it embarks on its upstream and downstream expansion and growth projects.

The announcement was made November 27 by the Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC), oil industry’s highest decision making body, presided over by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi as part of its 2030 strategy.

The SPC approved Adnoc’s plans to explore and appraise Abu Dhabi’s unconventional gas resources, as the company seeks to enable future value creation from its untapped gas resources. It gave the green light to Adnoc to pursue international downstream investments.

“Adnoc will expand its portfolio through strategic international downstream investments, and develop Abu Dhabi’s unconventional gas resources – cementing the UAE’s position in the global energy industry,” the crown prince said on the social media platform Twitter after the meeting of the SPC.

The company will aim to unlock and deliver material and commercially viable production from Abu Dhabi’s unconventional resources by 2030, with a focus on gas and gas liquids, Adnoc said. The company will access undeveloped tight reservoirs, tap into its gas caps and expand sour gas production. In addition, it has commenced an exploration drilling programme to explore for, and appraise, the potential of individual gas deposits in tight reservoirs.