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GLNG MIDDLE EAST GLNG

ADNOC, Aramco

seek finance for gas

expansion

FINANCE THE Gulf’s two top NOCs are reported to be investors would likely fund infrastructure for
reaching out to source financing to support midstream and downstream processing units at
major gas expansion efforts. the field, noting that stakes could be offered in
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) is carbon capture and storage (CCS), pipelines and
said to have asked banks to pitch for work in hydrogen plants. Aramco is being advised on the
supporting the listing of a new consolidated gas plans by investment bank Evercore.
division on the local stock exchange, while Saudi Aramco has raised nearly $60bn in recent
Aramco is holding talks with financial institu- years through its own IPO on the local Tadawul
tions to take an equity stake in projects associ- stock exchange and by leasing shares in its oil
ated with the development of the Kingdom’s and gas pipelines businesses.
Jafurah unconventional gas deposit. Announcing its Q2 results in August, it said
Reuters quoted people involved in proceed- that it was “progressing towards increasing pro-
ings as saying that ADNOC had invited banks to duction” as work continues to construct the
pitch to join Goldman Sachs in a syndicate, while 3.1bn cubic feet (88mn cubic metres) per day
sources told Bloomberg that Bank of Amer- Jafurah Gas Plant. Aramco said it is expected
ica Corp. and First Abu Dhabi Bank have been to be completed in two phases by 2027 with the
chosen as joint global coordinators on the initial unconventional Jafurah field seen beginning
public offering (IPO). The latter report said that production in 2025.
ADNOC has invited banks to pitch for the role The field is the key focus of Aramco’s gas
of bookrunner. expansion plans and output will ramp up to “a
In November, the Emirati firm announced sustainable rate” of 2 bcf (57 mcm) per day by
plans to combine its gas-processing and lique- 2030, providing feedstock for hydrogen and
fied natural gas (LNG) arms in a new business ammonia production and help satisfy expand-
called ADNOC Gas, which will have one of the ing local demand.
world’s top gas processing capacities at around Involvement in the Saudi upstream would be
10bn cubic feet (283mn cubic metres) per day highly political and would require approval from
from eight processing facilities as well as a pipe- the Ministry of Energy (MoE), through which
line network spanning 3,250 km. ADNOC’s Aramco received its concession to develop
announcement said it would sell a minority stake the Kingdom’s oil and gas reserves for an ini-
in the firm in an IPO on the Abu Dhabi Securi- tial 40-year period (extendable by a further 60
ties Exchange (ADX) in 2023. years). Based on this concession, the company’s
BP and Japan’s Mitsui & Co. own shares in reserves total 198.8bn barrels of crude and con-
ADNOC LNG, with Thailand’s PTT and Shell densate, 25.2bn barrels of NGL and 191.6 trillion
holding shares in ADNOC Gas Processing – cubic feet (5.43 trillion cubic metres) of gas.
French super-major TotalEnergies has a share- However, downstream joint ventures (JVs)
holding in both businesses. are much less contentious, with Aramco already
As ADNOC prepares to take its gas arm pub- involved in refining and petrochemical pro-
lic, Aramco is reporting to be looking for private jects with companies including Dow Chem-
financiers to support the $110bn Jafurah devel- ical, Shell, Sinopec, Sumitomo Chemical and
opment project. TotalEnergies.™
Speaking to Bloomberg, sources said that the

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