Even though the UAE's oil firm ADNOC is seeking partnerships and exploring a possible IPO of minority stakes in some of its services units, at the holding company level ADNOC will remain wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi Government, ADNOC group CEO Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said at the Oil and Money Conference in London on Tuesday.
ADNOC first said in July this year that it would be expanding partnerships and may list minority stakes in some of its services businesses with attractive growth and investment profiles.
In early August, ADNOC said it would split its existing offshore oil concession into two or more concessions with new terms, and was in advanced talks with more than a dozen potential partners to do that. The offshore concession, currently operated by the Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (ADMA-OPCO) and expiring in March next year, will be split in order to unlock greater value and increase partnership opportunities, ADNOC said.
At today's event, ADNOC's Al Jaber said that creative strategic partnerships were crucial to resilience in the oil and gas markets today.
ADNOC's oil production is currently around 3 million bpd, and the group plans to raise its production to 3.5 million bpd by 2018.
The strategic shift at the firm will also be felt in its finances.
"As part of the active management of our portfolio of assets we are looking to optimize our balance sheet to both free-up capital for re-investment and enhance returns. ADNOC is therefore considering various options with regards to its future financing strategy," Al Jaber said.
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Like all his colleagues managing large oil firms, Al Jaber also sees oil and gas as essential to the global energy mix through 2040, and believes that hydrocarbons will continue to be the "bedrock of economic growth for decades to come."
According to Al Jaber, oil and gas would supply more than half of the global energy needs by 2040, renewables and nuclear would account for 27 percent, and coal would drop to 22 percent.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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