Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announces the discovery of 22 billion barrels of unconventional oil which is made up of unconventional reserves including shale oil as the company pledges $122 billion in capital expenditure (Capex) over the next five years, according to a press release.

This addition of 22 billion barrels propels the United Arab Emirate’s (UAE) status to the sixth-largest reserves in the world, with total recoverable reserves reaching 107 billion barrels. The company also increased conventional oil reserves by 2 billion barrels.

Speaking on the discovery, Ahmad Al Jabal, CEO of ADNOC said, “Today’s announcement by the Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) of the discovery of recoverable unconventional oil resources demonstrates how ADNOC is efficiently expediting the exploration and development of Abu Dhabi’s unconventional resources and marks a major milestone as the nation’s unconventional industry evolves.”

In terms of Capex, the SPC also approved ADNOC’s proposed plan of $122 billion for 2021-2025 to enable smart growth. As part of this plan, ADNOC aims to drive over $43.6 billion back into UAE’s economy between 2021-2025. 

On top of this, the SPC gave approval for ADNOC to award exploration blocks in Abu Dhabi’s second competitive block bid round which was launched in 2019.

With this significant boost in oil reserves, ADNOC believes it will help the company’s desire to reach 5 million barrels per day (mmbbl/d).