The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announced on 2 November that it has reached a final investment decision (FID) on the Ruwais Diyab unconventional gas project. The development represents ADNOC's first major tight-gas project and is expected to produce up to 345 MMscf/D of gas by 2029. Announced during the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC), Ruwais Diyab ultimately could be expanded to produce as much as 1 Bcf/D.
ADNOC said growing demand from industry, power generation, and artificial intelligence-related infrastructure is increasing the need for additional gas supplies. The company added that the project will help strengthen the UAE's energy security.
The FID follows a program of technical studies, field testing, and subsurface analysis intended to reduce development risk and better characterize the resource.
Gas produced from Ruwais Diyab will be processed in the field before being transported through new pipelines into the UAE's existing gas network. The development is also expected to support the country's ambitions to expand liquefied natural gas exports.
"Ruwais Diyab is ADNOC's first large-scale unconventional gas development, and this FID marks an important milestone in unlocking Abu Dhabi's vast gas resources. This investment will strengthen the UAE's energy security, support industrial growth, and advance ADNOC's integrated global gas growth strategy to responsibly meet rising demand at home and abroad," said Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE minister of industry and advanced technology and ADNOC CEO, in a statement released at ADIPEC.
The UAE holds the world's seventh-largest natural gas reserves, with an estimated 298 Tcf of conventional gas resources and approximately 160 Tcf of tight-gas resources.