Sheikh Khalifa appoints new board of directors for Adnoc

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed to chair the board of state-owned energy producer

Adnoc's headquarters in Abu Dhabi. The company's board will be chaired by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed. Photo: Courtesy Adnoc

UAE President Sheikh Khalifa, who also heads Abu Dhabi's Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs, appointed a new board of directors to govern the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

The new board will be chaired by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and will include the company's group chief executive Dr Sultan Al Jaber, who has additionally been appointed managing director of Adnoc.

Dr Al Jaber, who is also the Minister for Industry and Advanced Technology, is also part of an executive committee of Adnoc's board which includes energy minister Suhail Al Mazrouei, Mubadala Investment Company chief executive Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chairman of Abu Dhabi's Department of Finance Jassem Al Zaabi and Minister of State, Ahmed Al Sayegh. The executive committee will be chaired by Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, who is a member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and the chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office.

Adnoc's new board of directors includes Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, Dr Al Jaber, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Ahmed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Jassem Mohammed Al Zaabi, Suhail Al Mazrouei, Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh and Awaidha Murshed Al Marar.

The new board of directors takes over from the Supreme Petroleum Council, which previously governed Adnoc.

The council ratifies Adnoc's annual five-year spending plan, discoveries of new resources and allocation of concessions to international energy companies.

The SPC was replaced in December by the Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs, with Sheikh Khalifa as the chairman and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed as its vice-chair.

The constitution of Adnoc's first board marks a significant milestone in the group's evolution from a national oil firm to an integrated energy company with a growing international reach.

The new council was established to support Abu Dhabi's competitiveness and its economic and financial sustainability.

It will set financial and economic policy and will oversee the approval of strategies for a number of state-owned entities including Adnoc, Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and holding company ADQ.

The council has oversight on the Department of Finance but it will operate with autonomy on a day-to-day basis.

The UAE, Opec's third-largest producer, accounts for nearly 4.2 per cent of global output of oil. Most of the production comes from fields owned and operated by Adnoc in Abu Dhabi. The national oil company has streamlined its operations under Dr Al Jaber, who was appointed to his existing position in 2016.

Under his leadership, Adnoc invited partnerships from international investors into its upstream concessions and also opened up opportunities across its midstream and downstream assets to foreign capital.

Last year, the company forged a number of agreements with global asset managers across its value chain, attracting $16.8 billion in foreign direct investment into the UAE.

The Abu Dhabi firm also plans to spend $122bn over the next five years, of which $43.5bn will be directed towards the local economy.