DUBAI: Over the past three years, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has expanded its oil and gas business and quietly raised more than $19 billion in a variety of ways, according to a report published by Reuters.
ADNOC had adopted reform and modernization plans to draw more foreign investments. According to the report, the appointment of Sultan Ahmad Al Jaber, Minister of State, as a CEO of Adnoc Group, to oversee reforms at the company, is among these reforms.
Al Jaber said that reforms are still underway, and Adnoc plans to invest $45 billion in cooperation with partners, for the growth and expansion of its refining and petrochemical business. “The company looks to increase its share of the international market for crude oil and fuel. We don’t want cooperation to be limited to known or traditional partners, as we want to explore and seize all opportunities", he said.
The report says that Adnoc has signed agreements with BlackRock, the world’s largest fund manager, and other major financial institutions.
The company looks to increase its share of the international market for crude oil and fuel. We don’t want cooperation to be limited to known or traditional partners, as we want to explore and seize all opportunities
Adnoc has also sold a stake in its pipeline infrastructure and refining businesses, listed its fuel distribution division and offered international oil companies long-term concession deals.
Below are some of the key deals the state oil company has announced since 2018, part of Abu Dhabi’s plans to reform and modernise the economy and ADNOC, the emirate’s crown jewel.
INFRASTRUCTURE DEAL In 2019, U.S. investment firms BlackRock and KKR signed an agreement to invest $4 billion in Andoc’s midstream pipeline assets for a 40% stake in the business, Adnoc Oil Pipelines.
Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC will invest $600 million in the crude pipeline infra-structure for a 6% stake.
REFINING AND TRADING: In 2019, Italy’s Eni and Austria’s OMV agreed to pay a com-bined $5.8 billion to take a stake in Adnoc’s refining business and establish a new trad-ing operation owned by the three partners. The deal, which expands Adnoc’s access to European markets, furthers Eni’s diversification away from Africa and gives OMV a down-stream oil business outside Europe.
Under the agreement, Eni and OMV will respectively acquire a 20% and 15% share in AD-NOC Refining, with Adnoc owning the remaining 65%.
ADNOC DISTRIBUTION IPO IN 2017, ADNOC raised 3.1 billion dirhams ($851 million) through an initial public offering of its fuel distribution unit on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. ADNOC Distribution sold 1.25 billion shares, or 10% of its share capital.
CONCESSIONS: ADNOC signed a series of 40-year agreements with international energy companies for concessions.
France’s Total was awarded a 20% stake in the Umm Shaif and Nasr concession and a 5% interest in the Lower Zakum concession. Total paid participation fees totalling of 5.3 bil-lion dirhams ($1.44 billion) PetroChina was granted 10% stakes in the two offshore con-cessions. It paid participation fees of 4.3 billion dirham ($1.17 billion) in total.
Eni won a 10% stake in Umm Shaif and Nasr and a 5% stake in Lower Zakum. Participa-tion fees: 3.2 billion dirhams ($871.27 million).
Spain’s Cepsa was awarded a 20% stake in the SARB and Umm Lulu offshore concession. Cepsa’s participation fee was 5.5 billion dirhams ($1.5 billion).
A consortium led by India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp took a 10% stake in Lower Zakum. Participation fee: 2.2 billion dirhams ($600 million).
OMV won a 20% stake in the SARB and Umm Lulu concession.
Participation fee: 5.5 billion dirhams ($1.5 billion).
Japan’s INPEX was awarded a 10% stake in Lower Zakum, paying a 2.2 billion dirham ($600 million) participation fee. It also paid 920 million dirhams ($250 million) to extend its interests in the Satah and Umm Al Dalkh concession.
