ADNOC’s first investor forum highlights co-investment, partnership opportunities

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) hosted 200 members of the global investment and financial community at its inaugural investor forum in Abu Dhabi, providing attendees with a deeper understanding of ADNOC’s transformation and delivery, value creation plans, 2030 smart growth strategy and pipeline of new partnership and co-investment opportunities across its value chain.

During the forum, ADNOC senior management presented an overview of ADNOC’s world-class assets and footprint along the oil, gas and petrochemical value chain. Details on the company’s strong financial profile and robust financial management and governance processes were also provided. The forum highlighted ADNOC’s forty-five year plus track record of successful partnerships and co-investments, underpinned by its world-scale hydrocarbon resource and asset base, and its resilience over industry cycles.

Presentations from senior management also demonstrated ADNOC’s critical role as a key driver of innovative and creative opportunities and solutions to attract foreign investment and broaden the economic development and growth of Abu Dhabi and the UAE.

Forum attendees were updated on the delivery of ADNOC’s 2030 growth strategy as well as its new integrated gas strategy, aimed at achieving self-sufficiency in gas and transitioning to potentially becoming a net gas exporter. The forum also provided an update on ADNOC’s downstream strategy and plans to invest AED 165 billion in its downstream value chain. This investment will see the company triple its petrochemical production to 14.4 million tons per annum by 2025 and develop the world’s largest integrated refining and petrochemicals complex in Ruwais. Senior management presented their updated vision for the future of Ruwais, together with the emerging partnership and investment opportunities becoming available there.

Commenting on the forum, Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, said: "ADNOC’s inaugural investor forum aims to provide the global investor and financial community with a deeper understanding of ADNOC’s ambitious vision and 2030 strategy to grow its presence across the energy value chain and secure greater market access for its products, as well as the integral role that partnerships will play in this journey. As in the past, we are actively seeking long-term, value-adding partners to invest and grow alongside us. Over the last two years, we have developed a substantial pipeline of attractive and innovative partnership and co-investment opportunities, covering both equity and debt, and including opportunities in our infrastructure portfolio, service and support businesses, as well as our key operating business. This forum clearly demonstrates our active engagement with new types of global partners and investors to share and develop new ideas and invest together to unlock further value."

A guest speech from Ahmed Al Sayegh, Minister of State and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), reinforced Abu Dhabi and the UAE's attractiveness as a global investment destination and ADGM’s key role as an enabler of investment into Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE.

Lord Browne of Madingley, former CEO of BP, gave a keynote speech on macro trends in the energy industry and how these will shape the energy company of the future. His comments complemented ADNOC’s 2030 strategy and its bold approach to the evolving energy landscape, which will ensure ADNOC remains a more resilient, flexible and knowledge-based company, able to take full advantage of all emerging market opportunities. Over the last eighteen months, ADNOC has adopted a new, expanded approach to strategic partnership and co-investment, alongside the optimization and more proactive management of its portfolio of assets and capital.

As part of its new value creation strategy in support of its 2030 strategy, ADNOC has opened its concessions to new strategic partners and competitively tendered new exploration blocks. It has also executed a number of innovative financial transactions and investment opportunities that have created significant demand and interest from leading global institutional investors. ADNOC entered the global capital and debt markets for the first time with the issuance of a $3 billion bond on its ADCOP pipeline asset and executed the first ever IPO of an ADNOC business with the successful listing of ADNOC Distribution on the ADX. As a further example, it has recently entered into a strategic equity partnership between Baker Hughes, a GE company, and ADNOC Drilling to drive operational and capital efficiencies. These transactions demonstrate both ADNOC’s ability to quickly execute its new value creation strategy and its attractiveness to investors.

As well as these recent past transactions, ADNOC showcased a diverse pipeline of new opportunities for investors and partners to invest alongside ADNOC and share in its future growth across the company’s entire value chain, from upstream to downstream.