Search results

Risk grades: Abu Dhabi A1, Dubai A2. RAK’s Russian links: A delegation from the Ural region of Russia visited Ras Al-Khaimah in early November, comprising business owners involved in real estate, engineering services, IT development, food production and investment.

Climate goals: Ahead of the COP28 climate talks in Dubai, the UAE has set out a national action plan to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 – while also remaining a world-leading oil producer.

Saudi-headquartered multilateral the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp) unveiled a new identity, rebranding as The Arab Energy Fund, during the COP28 climate talks on 4 December.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has made three cross-border acquisition deals, as it seeks to better position itself for the global transition away from hydrocarbons, taking stakes in fertiliser and ammonia producer Fertiglobe, German chemical company Covestro and carbon capture and storage company Storegga.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is aiming to use its $23bn decarbonisation budget to develop its domestic and international carbon management platforms, following a wave of deal-making in December and January aimed at bolstering bolster the UAE’S energy transition credentials.

Tehran is making a concerted effort to improve relations with Baku, following tensions between the two sides in 2021. Relations between Iran and Azerbaijan have tended to be pragmatic rather than warm; Tehran has historically had better relations with Baku’s rival Armenia.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mid-February tour of the UAE and Qatar followed the signing of big energy supply deals and the release of former Indian naval officers sentenced to death in Doha for spying.

The appointment of Prince Abdelaziz Bin Salman (ABS) to replace Khalid Al-Falih brings to the Ministry of Energy one of its most seasoned officials in the top job he was never expected to get. Very well-liked by the specialist energy press as one of the most engaging senior oil officials to engage with the industry at Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) ministerial meetings and other encounters over decades – reflected in his handling of the mid- September Opec/Opec+ meetings in Vienna – ABS is undoubtedly an industry expert.

 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc)’s new 11-member board of directors was appointed on 28 February. Previously, the 16-member Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) functioned as the Adnoc board, but it was merged into the new and powerful 11-member Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs (SCFEA) in late December. At that point it was said the SPC members would sit on the Adnoc board until a new one could be formed. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ) now chairs Adnoc.

A flurry of announcements by GCC leaders about energy transitions and industrial strategies suggest major shifts are under way, if not always at the pace that global consultancies, uncritical media and ruling family boosters claim. As they emerge from the coronavirus pandemic and seek an exit from the Yemen war, core royal leaderships are applying a distinctly top-down approach to centrally plan their way towards a new global role.

A deal between Abu Dhabi giant Adnoc and UK major BP to co-invest in Egyptian gas assets highlights how wealthy Gulf national oil companies are seeking lower-carbon expansion opportunities across Africa, with actors from Qatar and Kuwait also among those on the hunt.

Output at the three-field Belbazem block is due to ramp up to 45,000 b/d, helping Abu Dhabi National Oil Company on its wat to reaching its target of 5m b/d production capacity by 2027.