Adnoc steps off the gas

Gas is currently the main casualty of Abu Dhabi’s more cautious approach. But that may be only in the short-term

Abu Dhabi responded bullishly when its Mid-East Gulf ally Saudi Arabia failed to broker a new Opec+ agreement with Russia in early March and announced a move to unconstrained production. State-owned Adnoc vowed to ramp up production within weeks to a newly possible 4mn-bl/d maximum and to quicken efforts to boost capacity by another 25pc, hitherto targeted for 2030.  But these output goals were originally adopted in November 2018 when the oil price was well over double the depths it is now plumbing. Current financial realities impose precisely the opposite imperative for producers worldwide—to slash capex and rein-in expansion ambitions.  The Emirati parastatal heavyweight is not immune—acce