ADNOC CEO Sultan al-Jaber said that the company is on track to reach a 5 million bpd crude oil production capacity by 2030 even as the coronavirus pandemic impacted on demand and energy transition trends. Al-Jaber said that hydrocarbons would remain ADNOC’s core business by 2030. He said that the world will still need oil and gas to meet half of its energy requirements for many decades to come even as energy transition happens rapidly.
ADNOC ramped up production to 4 million bpd in April this year amid the pandemic and the market share war between Russia and Saudi Arabia. The emirates is OPEC’s third-largest producer behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Al-Jaber that the long-term outlook for oil and gas demand remained very robust despite the current downturn. OPEC previously forecast that oil demand would recover to pre-pandemic levels next year while expecting no peak demand for oil before 2040. This differs from the IEA’s forecast of a recovery in 2023, which could be pushed back to 2025.
The CEO also revealed that ADNOC would look at expanding into clean energy, including investments in hydrogen. Hydrogen is a potential clean fuel as it emits only water vapour. However, it has failed to gain popularity due to high production, transportation, and storage costs. Previously, Al-Jaber said the company aimed at cutting its greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 25% in the next ten years.
