Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and president of COP28 climate summit, was interviewed during the 7th Ministerial on Climate Action in Brussels on July 13, 2023. ADNOC, one of the largest oil and gas firms in the world, is expected to spend over $1 billion per month on fossil fuels throughout the decade, according to analysis by Global Witness. This is significantly more than its commitment to decarbonization projects during the same period. While ADNOC disputes these findings, the analysis sheds light on the company’s investments ahead of the COP28 climate summit, which will take place in Dubai from November 30 to December 12. As the CEO of ADNOC and president of COP28, Sultan al-Jaber’s dual role has raised concerns among civil society groups and lawmakers.
Global Witness’ analysis reveals that ADNOC plans to spend an average of $1.14 billion per month on oil and gas production alone until 2030. This projection is nearly seven times greater than its investment in low-carbon solutions. By 2050, ADNOC is projected to have invested $387 billion in oil and gas, despite the urgent need to reduce emissions to avoid catastrophic climate change. ADNOC, however, disputes these figures, stating that they are speculative and inaccurate.
ADNOC announced earlier this year that it will allocate $15 billion for investment in low-carbon solutions by 2030, including clean power, carbon capture and storage, and electrification projects. Global Witness reached their projections by analyzing ADNOC’s forecasted capital expenditure for oil and gas from 2023 to 2050 using data from Rystad Energy’s UCube database. While this data is not publicly available, it is widely used and referenced in the industry.
Patrick Galey, a senior investigator at Global Witness, criticized ADNOC’s significant spending on fossil fuels despite presenting itself as committed to decarbonization. He expressed concern over Sultan al-Jaber’s ability to lead the COP28 summit while overseeing ADNOC’s investment in oil and gas. Global Witness is a campaign group that aims to stop the escalation of global warming caused by the oil and gas industry and ensure a fair and responsible energy transition.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has not yet responded to Global Witness’ analysis. ADNOC spokesperson emphasized the increasing energy demand due to population growth and the need for some level of oil and gas in the future, despite accelerating investments in renewables and lower carbon energy solutions. ADNOC aims to reduce its carbon intensity and methane emissions while increasing investments in renewables and zero-carbon energies like hydrogen.
In a separate report by Global Witness and Oil Change International, it was estimated that 20 of the world’s largest oil and gas companies would spend $932 billion by 2030 on developing new projects. Russian state company Gazprom was projected to spend the most, followed by US oil majors ExxonMobil and Chevron.
Overall, ADNOC’s significant spending on fossil fuels raises concerns about its commitment to decarbonization as the company continues to invest in oil and gas projects. The dual role of Sultan al-Jaber as CEO of ADNOC and president of COP28 has faced criticism, but ADNOC stands by its commitment to reduce emissions and invest in renewables. The COP28 summit aims to address the urgent need to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius, in line with the Paris Agreement.
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