DUBAI: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) said on Monday it is considering an initial public offering (IPO) of minority stakes of some of its services businesses. The company is also expanding its partnership model to target investment opportunities in the oil and gas sector.
In a statement, Adnoc said only some of its units may be listed, but the group holding company will remain fully owned by the government of Abu Dhabi and will not be listed.
Additionally, the company said it is looking at partnerships that will secure better access to the world’s fastest growing markets and capitalise on key trends in the energy industry.
“Our new approach comes at a time when global economic growth and energy demand is shifting East. These changes in energy demand sit alongside a rapid increase in demand for products derived from hydrocarbons – petrochemicals, plastics, and polymers,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Adnoc Group’s chief executive officer.
He added that expanding the company’s partnership model will allow for high growth opportunities and will spur domestic economic growth in the UAE.
Opportunities
Adnoc said some of the opportunities will include, but will not be limited to:
• Upstream - develop and further expand a regional, fully integrated drilling company. The development of upstream concessions with value-added partners that may also seek to strategically partner with ADNOC in other parts of the value chain
• Midstream - create a new energy infrastructure venture to both generate value and further optimize ADNOC’s assets. This venture might include, for example, the bundling of select ADNOC infrastructure assets such as oil, gas or refined products pipelines and storage facilities
• Downstream - further open ADNOC’s downstream business to create a number of new partnership and investment opportunities across its portfolio of refinery and petrochemical assets. These new ventures will bring in partners to improve integration, realize synergies and expand technological capability and output to meet the rising global demand for petrochemical products.
Partnerships
Adnoc said it will select new partners who have the potential to co-invest strategically across different parts of a more integrated Adnoc value chain. And that it will in turn offer innovative, attractive and stable investment opportunities that will bring select investor access to Adnoc’s asset base “that is both logistically and strategically advantaged and located in an investor friendly environment.”
The move is expected to create greater commercial opportunities for the UAE private sector, SMEs and other Adnoc suppliers besides providing an additional boost to the domestic economy, Adnoc stated, adding it will also increase foreign direct investment, technology and knowledge transfer into the UAE.
“We want value-add partners who share our values and are willing to contribute both capital and technological expertise for the joint pursuit of new growth opportunities and attractive returns. The ideal partner will bring tangible strategic value to Adnoc, including access to new markets, technical expertise, and a willingness to invest alongside us across our value chain,” Dr Al Jaber said.
