Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) has approved Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (ADNOC) oil and gas expansion plans, which are the foundation for its major petrochemicals ambitions announced in May of this year.

The state-owned energy group plans to increase oil capacity to 4 million barrels per day at the end of 2020 and 5 million barrels per day by 2030. In addition, new gas discoveries will sustain liquefied natural gas (LNG) production to 2040 and, said ADNOC, allow it to seize incremental LNG and gas-to-chemicals growth opportunities.

The SPC has also approved ADNOC’s new five-year business plan and capital investment growth of 486 billion dirhams ($132 billion) between 2019 and 2023.

Under its blueprint, ADNOC is proposing to invest 165 billion dirhams in downstream production, tripling its petrochemicals capacity to 14.4 million t/y by 2025 and creating what it said will be the world’s largest integrated refining and petrochemicals complex at Ruwais.

ADNOC CEO Sultan Ahmad Al Jaber noted that global oil consumption is estimated to increase by an additional 10 million barrels per day by 2024, adding that over the same period, demand for natural gas will increase by 40% while the market for higher-value polymers and petrochemicals will grow by 60%.