Dubai – Shares in the United Arab Emirates’ ADNOC Gas rose 19% in their first day of trading on Monday in a USD 2.5 billion initial public offering that aims to tap into growing demand for the fuel.
ADNOC Gas, a subsidiary of state-owned energy giant Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), closed at AED 2.82 (USD 0.77) after opening at AED 2.37 and briefly hitting AED 2.96 on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange.
ADNOC Gas, which only became operational at the start of this year, is the bourse’s biggest flotation yet.
At more than 50 times oversubscribed, it was the biggest demand ever seen for an initial public offering in the Middle East and North Africa, outstripping oil firm Saudi Aramco’s world-record USD 29.4 billion listing just over three years ago.
The rapidly organized IPO follows last year’s scramble for alternative gas resources after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and comes as countries search for cleaner fuels to mitigate global warming.
Transition fuel
ADNOC, the United Arab Emirates’ key revenue-earner, retains a 90% stake in the subsidiary formed from its former gas processing, LNG and industrial gas units.
Gas is being touted as cleaner than other fossil fuels as countries around the world strive to reduce their emissions.
In 2021, the UAE produced 57 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas, or about 1.4% of global output, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy.
That same year, the UAE exported 8.8 bcm of LNG, 1.7 percent of world LNG exports, the Statistical Review said.
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