The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) on Sunday pledged to spend US$55 billion on new projects over the next two years, just days after the UAE officially left the Opec oil cartel.
The move to ditch Opec and the expanded Opec+ group will allow the UAE to produce as much or as little crude as it wishes after decades of following a quota system instituted by the cartel, potentially providing a windfall of cash to the country.
“ADNOC today confirmed it is accelerating growth and delivery of its strategy with AED200 billion (US$55 billion) in new project awards for 2026-2028,” read a statement released by the company.
The move comes as the Gulf has been rattled by the US and Israel’s war with Iran, which has seen the Strait of Hormuz choke off massive amounts of energy exports and attacks by Tehran damaging infrastructure across the region.
Before Iran’s blockade of Hormuz disrupted oil flows, the UAE was Opec+’s fourth largest producer and accounted for nearly 13% of Opec production.
The UAE has long been frustrated with the Saudi-led Opec’s quotas, which sought to cap Emirati production at 3.4 million barrels a day to maintain prices.
Abu Dhabi aims to expand its production capacity to five million barrels a day by 2027.
“The planned project awards span ADNOC’s upstream and downstream operations and usher in a new phase of project delivery that will supercharge UAE’s manufacturing capacity, strengthen industrial resilience, deepen the impact of the company’s” plans to boost spending and production in the UAE, ADNOC added.
The UAE has been an Opec member through the emirate of Abu Dhabi since 1967, four years before the former British protectorate became an independent country.
It officially left the cartel on May 1.
As ADNOC announced the new lavish spending plans, the seven Opec+ members announced a hike in oil-production quotas during their first meeting since the UAE’s departure.
