Sheikh Khaled chairs Adnoc’s board of directors’ executive committee meeting

He commended the success of Murban crude oil futures contracts on IFAD as first anniversary approaches

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office, praised the recent listings of Fertiglobe and Adnoc Drilling. Wam

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office, presided over a meeting of the executive committee of Adnoc’s board of directors on Monday.

He reviewed Adnoc’s performance and strategic targets, and commended the success of Murban crude oil futures contracts on Ice Futures Abu Dhabi (IFAD) as the first anniversary of the start of trading approaches, according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office.

Adnoc rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange in March last year to celebrate the launch of crude futures contracts tracking the UAE's flagship Murban grade.

Murban, the emirate’s largest crude grade, joined the ranks of Brent, the widely traded oil benchmark, and US gauge West Texas Intermediate in pricing and trading oil.

Sheikh Khaled acknowledged that the futures contract had made Murban even more attractive to the global market and strengthened the country’s status as one of the world's energy centre.

The Murban futures contract has traded over one billion barrels of low-carbon Murban crude since its IFAD debut on March 29, 2021.

The IFAD exchange has more than 90 market participants and global clearing members such as JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and HSBC.

Sheikh Khaled also endorsed plans to use partnerships to increase the production of fuel with lower emissions as Adnoc embraces the UAE's energy transition strategy.

He gave directives to further strengthen efforts to reduce the company's carbon footprint and capitalise on renewable energy opportunities, including hydrogen.

In July, Adnoc joined the Hydrogen Council, an international body looking to hasten the use of the clean fuel, as the UAE ramps up efforts to decarbonise its economy.

In November, Adnoc and Taqa teamed up on a global renewable energy and green hydrogen venture that will have a generating capacity of 30 gigawatts by 2030.

Sheikh Khaled praised the company’s recent achievements, including the successful initial public offerings of Fertiglobe and Adnoc Drilling.

He said Adnoc Drilling, which reported that its full-year income for 2021 grew by 6 per cent to $604 million, and Fertiglobe are well-positioned to deliver on their ambitious growth plans.

Last month, Adnoc retained its position as the top brand in the UAE for the fourth consecutive year as group chief executive and managing director Dr Sultan Al Jaber was named the world's top oil and gas executive in a report published by global consultancy Brand Finance, which evaluates the world's biggest brands annually.

Adnoc also plans to boost its national reserves of 4 billion stock-tank barrels of oil and 16 trillion standard cubic feet of natural gas, and spend $127 billion in capital expenditure to boost its upstream production capacity and downstream portfolio.

During the meeting, Sheikh Khaled and the executive committee were also briefed on the growth of Adnoc’s trading business and its trading units — Adnoc Trading and Adnoc Global Trading — which completed their first year of trading activities last year.

“Both entities delivered significant incremental value from their operations to Adnoc, leveraging synergies with other Adnoc businesses,” the company said.