ADNOC approved a $6.2 billion final investment decision on Tuesday to develop the Umm Shaif Gas Cap, an offshore field in Abu Dhabi, alongside international partners TotalEnergies, Eni, and China National Petroleum Corporation.
The Abu Dhabi national oil company made the final investment decision Tuesday alongside partners TotalEnergies, Eni, and CNPC
Bloomberg / Getty Images
ADNOC approved a $6.2 billion final investment decision on Tuesday to develop the Umm Shaif Gas Cap, an offshore field in Abu Dhabi, alongside international partners TotalEnergies, Eni, and China National Petroleum Corporation.
Once fully developed, the field is projected to produce upward of 600 million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas and associated gas liquids, a volume ADNOC said represents close to 10% of what the UAE consumes domestically each day. Production is expected to begin by 2030.
The investment includes three engineering, procurement, and construction packages totaling $5.1 billion for offshore infrastructure, awarded to consortiums of UAE and international contractors. A separate $365 million, 14-well drilling program will be carried out by ADNOC Drilling over 18 months using three existing rigs, the company said.
"ADNOC is accelerating its integrated gas strategy to further harness the UAE's vast gas resources and expand our global LNG platform, as global demand for natural gas continues to rise," UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said in a statement.
The UAE holds the world's seventh-largest proven gas reserves, the company said. The company has outlined a goal of reaching 47 million tonnes of LNG capacity annually by 2035 as it broadens its role in global gas markets.
Umm Shaif is Abu Dhabi's longest-operating offshore field. It was in this field that Abu Dhabi drilled its first offshore well, and oil from Umm Shaif was loaded onto tankers for the emirate's inaugural exports in 1962, according to CNBC.
Qatar currently supplies roughly one-third of the UAE's domestic gas needs through a pipeline deal that runs out in 2032, according to CNBC. With the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly 20% of global LNG moves — remaining under strain, Abu Dhabi has felt mounting pressure to build out its own production capacity.
Tuesday's decision follows a separate concession award for the Bab Gas Cap, which the company said is expected to unlock an additional 1.5 billion standard cubic feet per day of natural gas and associated gas liquids.
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