345 Million Cubic Feet a Day From 2029 After ADNOC’s Final Investment Decision on Ruwais Gas Project
Key Facts
ADNOC said on November 2, 2026, that it had taken the final investment decision to develop unconventional gas in the Dhiyab field at Ruwais, expecting production of 345 million standard cubic feet a day of raw gas from 2029. The company said production would continue for 25 years, moving the project into investment and execution after years of concession development and gas delivery. The announcement came during ADIPEC in Abu Dhabi, and ADNOC described it as its first large-scale unconventional gas project. The announced volume applies to the Ruwais-Dhiyab project itself, not a broader unconventional gas program. It is also a production forecast starting in 2029, not a current production level.
The final investment decision marks progress from the forecasts ADNOC announced in October 2025, when it said unconventional gas production was expected to reach 300 million standard cubic feet a day, with a target of up to 1 billion cubic feet a day. The new announcement sets expected project output at 345 million standard cubic feet a day from 2029, while placing the potential to reach 1 billion in the category of future expansion. In 2020, ADNOC announced that the concession’s first delivery marked a step toward its goal of producing 1 billion standard cubic feet a day before 2030. Setting a new production start date provides a clearer timeline for the project, while the 1 billion level remains a potential future capacity. ADNOC says unconventional production from the Dhiyab field has already begun, and that it operates the project in partnership with minority stakeholder TotalEnergies.
ADNOC expects the project’s production capacity to reach 1 billion standard cubic feet a day in the future, if it expands beyond the specified output level of 345 million. The company did not attach a specific timeline to this possibility in its announcement, so it remains an expansion target rather than an achieved figure or a new production start date. This reflects the gap between the expected initial production rate and the capacity the project could reach later. In October 2025, ADNOC had cited a target of up to 1 billion cubic feet a day for unconventional gas, but the final investment decision announcement added a project-specific forecast and a start date from 2029. The announcement therefore combines a defined output estimate for the next phase with the possibility of long-term expansion.
According to ADNOC, the gas will be processed at the project site and then connected to the UAE gas network through new pipeline infrastructure. The plan includes processing and network connection in the project’s design, enabling supplies to be directed into the domestic gas system. The company said the new gas would strengthen domestic supply and support economic and industrial growth in the UAE. It added that the project also supports its ambitions to export liquefied natural gas, linking an increase in local supply with export goals. ADNOC estimated that the project’s output would be enough to power more than 500,000 homes in the UAE each year.
Sultan Al Jaber said the final investment decision “marks an important milestone in harnessing Abu Dhabi’s significant gas resources,” adding that the investment would support energy security and industrial growth. ADNOC presents the project in the context of the UAE’s gas resources, saying it has conventional reserves of 298 trillion standard cubic feet, alongside unconventional resources of 160 trillion standard cubic feet. These are reserve and resource figures, not the project’s daily output or the amount to be supplied from 2029. The decision follows the announcement of the concession’s first delivery in 2020 and comes ahead of the project’s expected production start in 2029. The next announced step is to begin production that year, with output expected by ADNOC to continue for 25 years.