ADNOC's US$6bn offshore gas network moves closer

Abu Dhabi has moved closer to completing an offshore gas processing and transportation network that will allow it to bring more energy resources onshore for domestic use.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company's (ADNOC) offshore gas project, which was estimated to be valued at US$6 billion (Dh22.03bn) in 2009, will provide the country with more security in electricity production, as well as more gas that can be injected into ageing oilfields to prolong production.

The Integrated Gas Development (IGD) includes offshore platforms, processing plants and a pipeline from Umm Shaif to Habshan with a planned capacity of 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day. The IGD is due to be in service in 2013 or 2014.

Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company, a unit of ADNOC, has completed the first phase of constructing a 38km pipeline from its oil and gas fields in Umm Shaif to Das Island, Mohamed al Shamma, a company spokesman, said yesterday.

On Das Island, the ADNOC subsidiary Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction will process the gas, then transport it via a pipeline to Habshan, 212km away.

In Habshan, gas will be processed at a natural gas liquids plant being constructed by Abu Dhabi Gas Industries (GASCO).

It has also awarded contracts for a plant at the export centre of Ruwais to split the gas liquid into butane and pentane.

Gas extracted along with oil at Umm Shaif fields will be boosted by additions from reservoirs in Umm Shaif Khuff and Umm Shaif Areaj, and overall gas output is expected to grow along with the emirate's oil output.

The pipeline system will allow the emirate to take advantage of gas from oilfields that might otherwise be flared off, a practice ADNOC is keen to avoid.

This week, GASCO awarded $1 billion in contracts for the planning and construction of a separate project, a sulphur granulating plant in Habshan and railway network to transport the solid sulphur to Abu Dhabi's export terminal situated in Ruwais.

ayee@thenational.ae

The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
not be younger than 25 years old
not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially

A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language

2018: Formal work begins
November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
November 2024: All 127 volumes completed

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”