ADNOC has secured US$11bn in structured financing from a consortium of 20 banks to monetise midstream assets linked to its Hail and Ghasha offshore gas project, according to The National.
The Abu Dhabi energy company said it, together with its concession partners Italy’s Eni and Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Public Company, opted for a non-recourse financing structure. Under this arrangement, lenders are repaid directly from the project’s future cash flows rather than from the balance sheets of the concession holders.
To enable the transaction, gas processing facilities associated with the Hail and Ghasha concessions were carved out from the upstream project. The financing was reported to be around 1.5 times oversubscribed, reflecting strong interest from regional and international lenders, particularly from Asia.
Hail and Ghasha are among the UAE’s largest offshore gas developments and are expected to produce up to 1.8bn standard cubic feet per day of gas. First gas is anticipated by the end of the decade. A source close to the transaction told The National that the deal was structured as pre-export finance and arranged several years ahead of production.
Chinese lenders, including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China, participated in the financing, alongside seven UAE-based banks. The funds will be made available in staggered phases to support construction of gas processing infrastructure, including sulphur separation facilities required for the ultra-sour gas produced from the fields.
Russia’s Lukoil exited its 10% stake in the Hail and Ghasha concession last month, with ADNOC subsequently absorbing the holding. The company said the financing enabled it to secure upfront value at competitive rates while accelerating development plans.
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and managing director and group chief executive of ADNOC, said Hail and Ghasha would play a central role in the company’s long-term gas strategy and was on track to deliver new gas supplies for customers.
ADNOC added that the financing model could be replicated across other large-scale greenfield projects. Across the region, national oil companies have increasingly turned to monetising midstream assets to unlock capital while retaining ownership. Similar transactions have been completed by Saudi Aramco in recent years, including multibillion-dollar pipeline and gas processing deals with global infrastructure investors.
