Just weeks after COP28, ADNOC’s oil and gas expansion plans “gain momentum”. Just weeks after the COP28 climate talks finished, it is business as usual for the host country, the United Arab Emirates, in expanding its oil and gas production.

The climate talks were widely criticised when it was announced that Sultan Al Jaber, the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, or ADNOC for short, would also head the COP28 talks.

Towards the beginning of COP, Sultan Al Jaber sparked further outrage when he claimed there was “no science” indicating that a phase-out of fossil fuels is needed to restrict global heating to 1.5°C. The remarks were widely condemned by scientists and climate activists.

And ADNOC is continuing to ignore climate science. Yesterday, Upstream, an industry magazine, reported that ADNOC’s oil and gas expansion projects were “gaining momentum.”

The state oil company is spending billions of dollars expanding its oil production capacity from four million barrels a day (bpd) to 5 million bpd by 2027.

Just weeks after COP28, ADNOC’s oil and gas expansion plans “gain momentum”

ADNOC has awarded a key offshore contract to a fellow UAE company to construct an artificial island near its ‘Al Nouf’ oilfield, which started production in 2005. ADNOC is planning to increase output from the field and increase production of unconventional oil and gas, including sour gas.

These expansion plans are not unexpected. OCI’s research has shown that the UAE has some of the biggest plans for new oil and gas extraction in the world. Among all companies, ADNOC is set to be the second biggest expander of oil and gas extraction in the near term. One analysis by Global Witness estimated that ADNOC could be on course to increase emissions from its oil and gas operations by more than 40 percent by 2030 compared to 2023 levels.

But they are still fundamentally at odds with the demands from climate scientists and energy experts who have repeatedly stated that we cannot afford to expand oil and gas production if we want a livable future. Last year, the International Energy Agency reported that there “is no need for investment in new coal, oil and natural gas.”

Speaking at the time, my colleague, Kelly Trout, said: “To limit global temperature rise as agreed upon internationally, there’s no room for new oil, gas, or coal fields.”

UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, also warned that countries must progressively phase out fossil fuels, “moving to leave oil, coal, and gas in the ground where they belong,” and massively boost investment in renewable energy instead.

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