Adnoc sets the pace 'amid oil price and demand uncertainty'

Despite the pandemic the company has maintained 'a flurry of corporate activity, diversifying both its operations and revenue streams' says industry publication

Adnoc plans to explore the potential of new fuels such as hydrogen as it moves to reduce its carbon intensity over the next decade. Courtesy: Adnoc

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has stepped up its deal-making, helping to diversify both its operations and revenue streams despite the challenges amid Covid-19 that have taken their toll on many oil and gas producers around the world, according to a leading energy publication.

Petroleum Economist said Adnoc "has looked to shrug off the pandemic to maintain a flurry of corporate activity".

"The company has a rich history of successfully outsourcing upstream exploration efforts and, over the past few years, has extended this approach to monetise infrastructure and facilities by divesting minority stakes in state assets. This has allowed the company to generate billions of dollars at a time of oil price and demand uncertainty," said Petroleum Economist, which has covered the oil industry since 1934.

Movement restrictions as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic have led to a decline in global air and ground transport and curbed oil demand, also prompting oil and gas companies to re-evaluate their strategies. Adnoc has, for example, made the push towards digitisation and achieved cost efficiencies attributed to artificial intelligence.

Its recent deal-making includes an agreement in July where a consortium of the world's leading infrastructure and sovereign wealth funds signed a $20.7bn contract to invest in Adnoc's natural gas pipelines infrastructure.

"With NOCs and IOCs around the world looking at the company's blueprint, few would question Adnoc's pragmatism, and its flexible approach has already paid dividends—its coffers filling while others face the prospect of axeing projects or staff," Petroleum Economist said.

Adnoc has been undergoing a transformation under chief executive Dr Sultan Al Jaber since he took on the role in early 2016. Dr Al Jaber has overseen the company's shift into a more commercially driven and innovative organisation.

As a result it has been adopting more creative strategies and more flexible and agile business models to capture growth.

In October 2017, for example, almost all of its subsidiary companies were unified under the Adnoc brand.

Adnoc is convening a roundtable of 30 global chief executives from the energy industry on Wednesday to address issues critical to the sector following the pandemic. The forum will be held on the sidelines of the annual Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (Adipec), which takes place online this year.