Adnoc unit receives $2.1b power-up

Dubai - ADQ owns assets such as Abu Dhabi Ports, Abu Dhabi Airport and bourse operator ADX.

The Abu Dhabi Pension Fund (ADPF) and ADQ, one of the region's largest holding companies, will invest $2.1 billion into select gas pipeline infrastructure assets of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, (Adnoc) the oil major said on Thursday.
Adnoc said it would divest 20 per cent in Adnoc Gas Pipelines HoldCo, a wholly-owned group entity that holds 100 per cent of the oil giant's interest in Adnoc Gas Pipelines assets to the investors.
Adnoc Gas Pipelines, a subsidiary of Adnoc, holds lease rights to 38 gas pipelines covering a total of 982km, the industry major said in a statement.
In July, a consortium of global investors, comprising Global Infrastructure Partners, Brookfield Asset Management, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, NH Investment & Securities and Snam invested $10.1 billion for a collective 49 per cent stake in the same select Adnoc gas pipeline infrastructure assets.
Dr Sultan bin Ahmad Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Adnoc Group CEO, said the addition of these high-calibre UAE investors in this landmark energy infrastructure investment sets a new benchmark for leading global and domestic institutional investors to deploy long-term equity capital into key Adnoc energy infrastructure assets.
"By partnering again with the ADPF, Adnoc is playing a pivotal role in ensuring the financial wellbeing of the UAE community and its people. This follow-on investment will generate stable, long-term value and returns to both the ADPF and ADQ's stakeholders. Their engagement highlights and underlines the attractiveness and long-term value creation potential of our unique energy assets to the global investment community, further reinforcing Adnoc's role as a primary driver in attracting tier one global institutional capital into Abu Dhabi and the UAE," said Dr Al Jaber.
He said Adnoc has sought to accommodate a combination of both international and domestic institutional investors in many of its investment opportunities.
For the ADPF, the deal marks the second investment in Adnoc's infrastructure assets, following its $300 million investment into select Adnoc oil pipelines announced in April 2019. In July, Adnoc and ADQ signed a joint venture agreement to create a new investment platform to fund and oversee the development of industrial projects within the planned Ruwais Derivatives Park.
ADPF director-general Khalaf Abdullah Rahma Al Hammadi said the fund is keen to implement the directives of the UAE's wise leadership and achieve Abu Dhabi's vision aimed at building strong partnerships between major national institutions to support the national economy and achieve the highest possible benefits.
"This agreement comes after the successful investment cooperation between the fund and Adnoc in the oil pipeline infrastructure space," he added.
Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, CEO of ADQ, said the company is investing in a group of midstream infrastructure assets, which are at the heart of Abu Dhabi's goal of achieving gas self-sufficiency and becoming a net exporter of gas.
"Our strategic investment in Adnoc's gas infrastructure provides us with the opportunity for stable, predictable cash flows. Aligned with our mandate to create value for Abu Dhabi, we are further strengthening our relationship with Adnoc and its world-class infrastructure in the emirate," he said.
- issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com