ADNOC Takes Final Investment Decision on Ruwais Diyab Unconventional Gas Project
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has taken a final investment decision (FID) on the Ruwais Diyab unconventional gas development, the company said on November 2 at the ADIPEC 2026 conference in Abu Dhabi. The project is ADNOC’s first large-scale unconventional gas development and is designed to deliver 345 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd) of raw gas starting in 2029, with the potential to scale up to 1 billion standard cubic feet per day (Bcfd) over time.
A first for ADNOC’s unconventional gas push
Unconventional gas is trapped in tight rock formations that require more intensive drilling and completion work than conventional reservoirs to produce economically. ADNOC has processed small volumes of unconventional gas at the Ruwais Diyab concession in onshore Abu Dhabi since 2020, but the FID marks the shift from pilot-scale testing to a full commercial development, with a production life of 25 years once output starts in 2029.
ADNOC Onshore, which operates the concession, carried out the technical studies, field testing and subsurface analysis that underpinned the decision. The company said it will deliver the project under a design-build-operate (DBO) model and will apply AI-assisted drilling and well-completion methods, an approach it says lowers development risk on a resource that is more complex to produce than the UAE’s conventional gas fields.
New gas for the domestic grid — and for exports
Gas from Ruwais Diyab will be processed on site and fed into the UAE’s domestic gas network through new pipeline infrastructure, according to ADNOC. The stated purpose is twofold: shore up domestic gas supply as demand grows, and free up associated conventional gas volumes for ADNOC’s expanding liquefied natural gas (LNG) export business.
That export push centers on Ruwais LNG, a 9.6 million tonnes-per-year plant that ADNOC says will be the region’s first all-electric LNG facility, with commercial production targeted for the second half of 2028. ADNOC has described Ruwais Diyab as part of the same “integrated” gas growth strategy that underpins the LNG project, though the two developments are separate investment decisions.
Part of a broader gas expansion
The Ruwais Diyab FID follows an earlier 2026 decision by ADNOC to proceed with Phases 2 and 3 of a separate rich-gas development project, which the company has called its largest-ever gas processing expansion and for which it awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to Tecnimont, a subsidiary of Italy’s Maire. ADNOC Onshore operates Ruwais Diyab, and TotalEnergies — ADNOC’s partner on several other Abu Dhabi upstream gas and offshore projects, including the Ghasha concession — holds a minority interest in the concession; neither company has published the exact current ownership split for Ruwais Diyab.
Why the UAE still imports gas despite huge reserves
The UAE’s gas paradox has shaped ADNOC’s strategy for years: the country sits on some of the world’s largest reserves, yet much of its conventional gas is “sour,” carrying high levels of hydrogen sulphide that make it costly to process. That is part of why the UAE has long relied on imported piped gas from Qatar via the Dolphin Energy pipeline and, more recently, on LNG cargoes to help meet winter power-demand peaks. Bringing new, more complex upstream gas resources like Ruwais Diyab into production is one way ADNOC is trying to narrow that gap without relying solely on imports.
UAE’s reserves and the energy-security framing
ADNOC says the UAE holds the world’s seventh-largest gas reserves, with 298 trillion standard cubic feet of conventional gas resources and a further 160 trillion standard cubic feet classified as unconventional. Unlocking more of that unconventional resource has been a stated ADNOC priority for several years, and the Ruwais Diyab FID is the clearest sign yet that the company is moving that ambition from exploration into commercial-scale production.
ADNOC’s managing director and group chief executive, Sultan Al Jaber, also used ADIPEC 2026 to argue that energy security is increasingly “measured by delivery, not just production” — a framing the company has applied to its wider gas, LNG and domestic-supply investments this year.
Sources
- ADNOC Media Office, statement via ADIPEC 2026, November 2, 2026 — announcement of the FID and project figures.
- World Oil, “ADNOC takes FID on Ruwais Diyab unconventional gas project,” November 2, 2026 — project scope and output targets.
- Oil & Gas Journal, “ADIPEC 2026: ADNOC takes FID on Ruwais Diyab unconventional gas development,” November 2, 2026 — delivery model, technology and UAE reserve figures.
- Upstream Online, “ADNOC takes FID on landmark gas development,” November 2, 2026 — independent confirmation of the FID.
- OilPrice.com, “ADNOC Approves Major UAE Gas Development to Boost Domestic Supply,” November 2, 2026 — additional confirmation and context.
Illustrative image. Photo: Richard Bartz, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons — source
