ADNGC to sell 4% stake in IPO

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – ADNOC’s gas processing unit said on Friday it plans to sell a 4 percent stake to local investors in the latest initial public offering of a state energy company in the Middle East.

It follows a similar initial public offering by Saudi oil giant Aramco in 2019, which raised about $30 billion, and just months before the United Arab Emirates will host this year’s U.N. climate talks.

The United Arab Emirates, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, has angered climate change activists by choosing ADNOC chief executive and head of renewable energy programs Sultan al-Jaber to chair COP28.

ADNOC owns 95% of the natural gas reserves in the UAE, the seventh largest in the world. It supplies natural gas to more than 60% of the local market and exports to more than 20 countries. The company’s net income for the first 10 months of 2022 was $4.2 billion, up from $3.6 billion for all of 2021.

It plans to list more than 3 billion shares on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange for purchase by local investors starting February 23.

“Gas is at the heart of the energy transition,” ADNOC Acting Group Chief Financial Officer Khaled Al Zaabi said in a release. “ADNOC Gas is well-positioned to responsibly utilize our vital natural gas resources while increasing efficiency, creating value and reliably supplying this critical fuel to meet the world’s growing energy needs.”

ADNOC Gas has a gross natural gas processing capacity of more than 10 billion standard cubic feet per day and 29 million tons of liquids per year. ADNOC announced the February 2022 discovery of up to 2 trillion standard cubic feet of natural gas in the offshore area.

Oil and gas have fueled the UAE’s rapid transformation into a high-tech global business hub, with futuristic cities and one of the world’s busiest airports. Analysts believe the UAE is trying to maximize profits as the world increasingly turns to renewable energy.

The UAE says it has invested more than $50 billion in renewable energy projects in 70 countries and plans to invest another $50 billion over the next decade. It’s also vowed to be carbon neutral by 2050, though it’s unclear how it will achieve that.