Abu Dhabi National Oil Company brought onstream its Taweelah gas compression plant, which is expected to supply up to 450 million cubic feet per day to meet the requirements of industries in Abu Dhabi and the Northern Emirates.
“[The plant] effectively expands the national gas infrastructure for the efficient delivery of gas within the country,” said Adnoc group chief executive Dr Sultan Al Jaber.
"This will allow Adnoc to better service its customers throughout the UAE and to implement one of our key strategic imperatives, which is to provide a sustainable and economic supply of gas."
The inauguration of the plant located 50 kilometres north of Abu Dhabi follows Adnoc's announcement earlier this month of the discovery of up to 15 trillion cubic feet of gas, an addition of 7.1 per cent to existing reserves.
Adnoc, which currently produces 10.5 billion cfd of raw gas, plans to add 1 billion cfd before the end of the next decade, as it seeks gas self-sufficiency.
Fuel to the Taweelah gas processing plant will be delivered by the newly installed Maqta-Taweelah pipeline, which has its source at the Habshan gas field and is operated by the state producer’s gas processing subsidiary.
German company Siemens was the main contractor on the project, which comprises three compression trains, each of which has 225 million cfd processing capacity.
At any one time, two of those trains would be operational with a third on standby, the company said.
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Upstream activity in Abu Dhabi’s gas sector is expected to see an uptick following the approval of Dh486 billion by Supreme Petroleum Council earlier this month to spend over the next five years in unlocking the emirate’s largely sour gas caps.
Adnoc’s latest spending commitment does not stop at achieving gas self-sufficiency but also has a bigger aim of becoming a net exporter of the fuel.
According to consultancy Wood Mackenzie, Abu Dhabi could develop significant liquefied natural gas capacity by 2024 on the back of its latest gas discoveries.
Abu Dhabi’s state producer has also begun ramping up efforts to drive upstream exploration work through its ongoing licensing round for six oil and gas blocks this year.
A number of firms have already been awarded concession agreements to develop Abu Dhabi’s sulphurous gas reserves.
Adnoc awarded Italian energy company Eni a 40-year 25 per cent stake in the multibillion dollar Ghasha project, Abu Dhabi's first ultra-sour gas offshore project in early November.
The firm was looking for more partners to work on the gas concession, according to Dr Al Jaber.
Abu Dhabi's state producer also awarded French oil major Total a 40 per cent stake to develop the Ruwais Diyab gas concession.
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Hydrogen: Market potential
Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.
"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.
Falling costs of renewable energy and electrolysers used in green hydrogen production is one of the main catalysts for the increasingly bullish sentiment over the element.
The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.
Saturday's results
West Ham 2-3 Tottenham
Arsenal 2-2 Southampton
Bournemouth 1-2 Wolves
Brighton 0-2 Leicester City
Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool
Everton 0-2 Norwich City
Watford 0-3 Burnley
Manchester City v Chelsea, 9.30pm
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The past winners
2009 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2010 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2011 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2012 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
2013 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2014 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2015 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
2016 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2017 - Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
