Pit stop and play stop: Adnoc to roll out family-friendly petrol stations across UAE

New concept promises fuel, 'fun', retail and children's playgrounds

Adnoc Distribution has 977 service stations – 562 in the UAE, 172 in Saudi Arabia and 243 in Egypt. Photo: Adnoc Distribution

Adnoc Distribution, the UAE’s largest fuel and convenience retailer, will open reformatted petrol stations in November that will also be family-friendly destinations, a senior executive has told The National.

The concept, called The Hub, will feature a mix of fuel, fast-charging, car, food, family and “fun” services, and 30 of them are planned to open within three years, chief strategy, technology and sustainability officer Athmane Benzerroug told The National on Friday.

The first of The Hubs will be inaugurated in Abu Dhabi “in about three weeks”, he said. They will eventually be expanded throughout the UAE, and each will be “tailored to reflect and serve the unique character of its local community”.

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“We are seeing a market trend where customers are not only going to fuel up or charge [their vehicles] at the stations,” Mr Benzerroug said.

“It's a bold new concept,” he added. Adnoc Distribution is optimising its land and adding more for the community, he said. Feedback indicated that “customers want an integrated experience”.

“You're going to have fun and family playgrounds,” he added.

The move, Mr Benzerroug said, is part of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company unit's expanding strategy of offering experiences beyond its core fuel business, as customers tend to visit petrol stations that offer more than traditional car services.

Aside from its Oasis convenience stores and restaurant options, Adnoc Distribution has integrated other consumer services into its stations, including pharmacies and laundries. A number of its locations in Abu Dhabi host food lorries.

Adnoc Distribution has 977 service stations – 562 in the UAE, 172 in Saudi Arabia and 243 in Egypt. The company recently said it aims to increase those to 1,150 by 2028, 15 per cent more than the previous figure of 1,000.

Non-fuel retail continued to deliver strong momentum for the company in the third quarter of 2025, with gross profit growing annually by 14.7 per cent.

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“The competition, in general, is not about the price of fuel because it is the same [all over the UAE],” Mr Benzerroug said.

“We're now making sure that the conveniences we offer … increase customer visits and help us to retain them.”

Third-quarter profit up

Adnoc Distribution has continued to lean heavily on implementing advanced technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, to streamline operations and increase its appeal to customers, including via the products on offer and the perks available on its rewards app.

In the first nine months of 2025, the company's capital expenditure was about $210 million, of which $22 million, or more than 10 per cent, was dedicated to technology, Mr Benzerroug said.

He said the company has a “fully-dedicated AI and technology team”, including data scientists who analyse their operational figures.

“Our key goal is to be simple: how investments in AI will make the customer experience even better,” he said.

Adnoc Distribution will continue to look into potential mergers and acquisitions, but will be “disciplined” in capital allocation, Mr Benzerroug said.

“What matters is that any acquisition will create value for our shareholders … to achieve higher growth and higher dividends,” he said.

Earlier on Friday, Adnoc Distribution reported that its third-quarter net profit jumped 21.5 per cent annually to $221 million, with revenue up 2.7 per cent, reaching $2.54 billion. This was driven by a surge in retail fuel volumes.

Net profit for the first nine months of 2025 grew 15.6 per cent year-on-year to $579 million, and the company posted its highest nine-month fuel volume of 11.7 billion litres.