Of all the initial public offerings, many of energy sector companies, conducted in the UAE in recent years, the listing of Adnoc Gas is the biggest and most strategic.
The state company’s gas processing unit will be valued at up to Dh186.5 billion ($50.8 billion) when it lists about 4 per cent of its shares, with trading intended to start on March 13. More than the money, the company is crucial for the country’s energy ambitions.
The four previous Adnoc IPOs have covered fuel retail (Adnoc Distribution), drilling, petrochemicals (Borouge) and fertilisers (Fertiglobe). Their total market capitalisation today stands at about Dh215 billion, so Adnoc Gas will almost double the value of its parent’s listed entities.
It will be comparable in value to large international companies such as Occidental, Eni and Woodside, and worth almost four times EQT, the largest gas-producing company in the US.
At the top of its valuation range, it will offer an attractive 6.4 per cent dividend yield.
Direct access for investors outside specialist oil and gas companies to the region’s hydrocarbon reserves is almost unheard of.
Saudi Aramco, which carried out its own IPO in December 2019, is the exception but public shareholders own part of the parent company, which includes refining, petrochemical and other assets.
Adnoc Gas does not offer upstream exposure, but it comes close. It processes gas from Adnoc’s fields to remove valuable by-products such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG, used for cooking), natural gas liquids employed in petrochemicals, condensate (a type of light oil) and sulphur.
The processed gas is reinjected into oilfields to improve recovery, sold to the domestic market, or liquefied for export by Adnoc LNG.
So Adnoc Gas offers exposure to local as well as international commodity prices, after tax and a profit-sharing arrangement with its parent.
It enjoys low processing costs, just $0.5 per million British thermal units, when international liquefied natural gas sells for about $15 per MMBtu even after recent price drops.
The raw figures are imposing: drawing on nearly all the UAE’s 290 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, the world’s seventh largest, demand will be at about 8.7 billion cubic feet per day by the late 2020s, which would equate to the world’s ninth-largest production currently, with the UAE hot on the heels of Algeria in eighth.
The UAE intends to be capable of self-sufficiency in gas by 2030, which should be eminently achievable given Adnoc’s planned production increases.
These include major new offshore projects, unconventional gas onshore, production from the Bab field, and higher associated gas derived from expanding oil production as the parent company moves towards its target of 5 million barrels per day capacity.
And that will allow more exports, crucial in a world market suddenly short of gas because of the obliteration of Russia’s supplies to Europe.
With countries such as Pakistan turning to coal because of unaffordable LNG, more gas will help limit carbon dioxide emissions in Asia.
The planned LNG export plant at Fujairah is not part of Adnoc Gas’s asset base currently, but it expects to acquire it from the parent when it is complete in about 2027, in addition to the existing facility on Das Island which will be expanded.
Building scale is essential for Adnoc’s LNG business to be internationally competitive.
Gas requirements for domestic power generation will drop as nuclear and solar capacity come online, so increased consumption at home will depend on rising industrial use.
Although the IPO prospectus refers only in passing to hydrogen, the production of “blue” hydrogen or its derivatives ammonia and methanol from gas with carbon capture is likely to be another key strategic area of growth.
Gas is still a carbon-containing fuel, so for compatibility with the UAE’s 2050 net-zero goal, Adnoc Gas needs to install carbon capture, limit methane leakage, improve energy efficiency and electrify its facilities with renewable and nuclear power.
That will be ever more important as its current gas purchase agreement with Adnoc moves towards 2047 and the expiry of its primary term, and investors grow ever more attentive to climate risks.
So Adnoc Gas appears a solid and relatively low-risk company, with good growth prospects, and a realistic lower-carbon proposition.
After decades of absence of the region’s main industry, the GCC stock exchanges now offer a range of different petroleum-related companies.
The continuing wave of GCC IPOs gives citizens, residents and international investors more of a stake in Gulf economies.
Could any of its regional peers follow the Adnoc Gas template?
Aramco could, but it would be duplicative with its parent company listing. QatarEnergy is overwhelmingly a gas exporter, and neither it nor Bahrain’s state oil company have shown any interest in listing. Kuwait Petroleum produces gas only for domestic use and is not set up commercially to be a public company.
There has been talk of an IPO of the gas network of Oman’s OQ, but production and processing are complicated by several partnerships with international oil companies.
For now, Adnoc Gas probably stands alone.
Within Adnoc itself, there are some other specialist units that could see offerings and that have sparked media speculation.
Alternatively, it might pursue more partnerships or securitisations, as it has done for its refining and oil and gas pipeline units.
But unless and until the company decides to give access to its upstream operations, Adnoc Gas will be the closest approach investors have to the nation’s subsurface wealth.
Robin M. Mills is chief executive of Qamar Energy, and author of The Myth of the Oil Crisis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World by Michael Ignatieff
Harvard University Press
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
Third Test
Day 3, stumps
India 443-7 (d) & 54-5 (27 ov)
Australia 151
India lead by 346 runs with 5 wickets remaining
THE%20STRANGERS'%20CASE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Brandt%20Andersen%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOmar%20Sy%2C%20Jason%20Beghe%2C%20Angeliki%20Papoulia%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Schedule
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ENovember%2013-14%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%20World%20Youth%20Jiu-Jitsu%20Championship%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENovember%2015-16%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbu%20Dhabi%20World%20Masters%20Jiu-Jitsu%20Championship%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENovember%2017-19%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%20World%20Professional%20Jiu-Jitsu%20Championship%20followed%20by%20the%20Abu%20Dhabi%20World%20Jiu-Jitsu%20Awards%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
THE%C2%A0SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.4-litre%20four-cylinder%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20210hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Starting%20from%20Dh89%2C900%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Teams
India (playing XI): Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami
South Africa (squad): Faf du Plessis (c), Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, Dean Elgar, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Rudi Second
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
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
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. Points about the fast fashion industry Celine Hajjar wants everyone to know
- Fast fashion is responsible for up to 10 per cent of global carbon emissions
- Fast fashion is responsible for 24 per cent of the world's insecticides
- Synthetic fibres that make up the average garment can take hundreds of years to biodegrade
- Fast fashion labour workers make 80 per cent less than the required salary to live
- 27 million fast fashion workers worldwide suffer from work-related illnesses and diseases
- Hundreds of thousands of fast fashion labourers work without rights or protection and 80 per cent of them are women
