The UAE has approved a sweeping expansion of its national energy strategy after President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed chaired ADNOC’s annual board meeting at the Habshan complex, endorsing a US$150 billion capital program for 2026–2030 and acknowledging major increases in the country’s oil and gas reserves.
Held inside the operations control room of ADNOC Gas, which supplies 60% of the UAE’s natural gas needs, the meeting underscored the strategic role of Habshan in powering the nation’s industrial growth and energy security.
ADNOC confirmed a significant uptick in the UAE’s hydrocarbon reserves, with oil reserves rising by 7 billion stock tank barrels to 120 billion STB, while gas reserves climbed by 7 trillion cubic feet to 297 tscf. The company also reported 1.2 billion boe in new discoveries, enabled by advanced seismic imaging and AI-driven subsurface analytics.
The board approved CAPEX of US$150 billion over the next five years to maintain upstream capacity, expand gas output, and accelerate growth across its downstream and chemicals portfolio. This includes major progress on Abu Dhabi’s unconventional resources, estimated at 160 tscf of gas and 22 billion stb of oil.
The board cleared the creation of ADNOC Ghasha, a dedicated operating company for the massive Ghasha Concession, which spans the Hail, Ghasha, Dalma, SARB, and Nasr fields. The concession is expected to deliver 1.8 bscfd of gas and 150,000 bpd of oil and condensates. Construction on the flagship Hail and Ghasha mega project is now advancing rapidly.
ADNOC is set to channel US$60 billion into the domestic economy through its In-Country Value (ICV) programme over the next five years. The initiative has already returned US$83.7 billion to the UAE economy since 2018, supporting industrial development and private-sector employment.
The company has signed more than US$21.8 billion in local manufacturing offtake agreements as part of its plan to source US$24.5 billion worth of industrial products domestically by 2030. These moves support the UAE’s “Make it in the Emirates” industrial strategy.
All Phase 1 projects of the TA’ZIZ chemicals ecosystem in Al Ruwais are now underway. The platform, one of the largest integrated chemical complexes in the Gulf, will produce 4.7 mtpa of industrial chemicals and help lift ADNOC’s total chemicals capacity to 11 mtpa by 2028.
Reaffirming its ambition to become the world’s most AI-enabled energy company, ADNOC highlighted widespread deployment of advanced analytics, robotics, and autonomous operations across its upstream and downstream operations. The board also reviewed ADNOC’s new Productivity Index, a real-time performance tool meant to enhance workforce efficiency.