The EPC contracts span both onshore and offshore facilities—namely Asab, Buhasa, Habshan and Das Island. The contracts are divided across three tranches: a $2.8 billion package at Habshan going to Scotland-based Wood Group; $1.2 billion at Das Island and $1.1 billion across Asab and Buhasa awarded jointly to Petrofac and Kent Plc.
This marks the largest capital allocation by ADNOC Gas since its formation in early 2023, following the consolidation of the group’s gas processing, LNG, and industrial gas operations. The deals signal the start of a multi-phase strategy that includes upcoming investment decisions for further phases at Habshan and Ruwais, although timelines remain undisclosed.
ADNOC Gas, which manages approximately 95 per cent of the UAE’s natural gas reserves, reported a 7 per cent rise in net income to $1.27 billion in the first quarter of 2025, driven by robust domestic demand and overall economic growth. The RGD scheme, focused on “debottlenecking” existing facilities and unlocking new gas streams, is expected to increase process throughput and underpin a broader growth trajectory for the business.
Fatema Al Nuaimi, chief executive of ADNOC Gas, described the contracts as a “significant milestone” that she expects will "drive more than 40 per cent EBITDA growth by 2029," echoing targets set by analysts. The investment signals long-term ambitions aligned with the UAE’s broader energy and industrial diversification policies.
By optimising existing onshore facilities, constructing new processing trains and expanding fractionation capabilities, the RGD project will support rising crude production—planned to reach 5 million barrels per day by 2027—and open up outputs for key downstream sectors like petrochemicals.
The projected improvements will boost exports of LNG, LPG and naphtha, supporting both domestic energy security and the UAE’s expanding global footprint in gas markets. ADNOC Gas is also the majority stakeholder in Das Island LNG facilities, which sell gas into the spot and long-term supply markets. Balancing contractual obligations with opportunistic cargo sales has proved profitable, particularly through the winter of 2025.
The RGD commitments complement other major initiatives underway. The IGD‑E2 pipeline start-up later this year will increase supply from Das Island to Habshan. Concurrently, the $3.6 billion Meram ethane and LPG project and the 9.6 million tonnes per annum Ruwais LNG expansion—set for completion in 2027–28—form key pillars of ADNOC Gas’s projected $15 billion investment horizon over the next five years.
Longer term, planned additional phases of the RGD project at Habshan and Ruwais aim to scale production further to meet global market demand. While no schedules have been confirmed, ADNOC Gas reiterated that they will be taken up when market and operational readiness align.
This scale of investment and strategic alignment has triggered interest in the company’s capital markets activities. ADNOC Gas increased its free float to 9 per cent through a share sale that raised $2.84 billion, and is being watched by index-tracking funds, such as the MSCI and FTSE emerging markets indices.
Internationally, ADNOC as a group has also signed major LNG deals—most recently a 15-year supply agreement with Japan’s Osaka Gas linked to the Ruwais LNG expansion—which reflects the wider ambition to contest Qatar and Saudi Arabia in the LNG export market.
Across all these initiatives, ADNOC Gas is leaning into sustainable growth models and in‑country value creation, including plans to create hundreds of technical jobs by 2029. The company’s integrated upstream-downstream strategy and infrastructure scale position it to play a significant role in the UAE’s industrial transformation.
As ADNOC Gas embarks on this transformational programme, the effectiveness of implementation, project delivery and market response will define its contribution to the national gas self‑sufficiency agenda and global energy supply ambitions.
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