THIS MORNING: Another Adnoc vessel passes through Hormuz + Adnoc wants to hit the gas on unconventional gas project

Good morning, lovely people. We have another busy issue for you this morning, packed with news out of Make It in the Emirates as local players pledge bns in AED in support for the country’s industrialization push.

Our Big Story Today looks at the AED 18 bn package of funding announced by local lenders, and we speak to Mashreq’s head of Services and Manufacturing Shakil Haider about current appetite for financing across industrials.

Plus: We break down new projects like a graphene park coming to Sharjah, a AED 10 bn investment for T’aziz to get into new chemicals, and a defense freezone in Abu Dhabi. A green hydrogen project is also on its way.

Meanwhile, it’s still unclear what’s going on over in the Strait of Hormuz, with an Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) tanker reportedly making its way through, according to Bloomberg, after it resurfaced loaded near northern Indonesia on its way to Japan, after going dark for more than two weeks. The vessel was last seen empty near the eastern entrance of Hormuz on 19 April, and has historically only been loading from Adnoc’s Das Island LNG export plant.

The pattern is getting clearer: We heard of another tanker earlier in March loading in Das Island — and going dark later that month — then reappearing near India almost a month later. Together, the voyages suggest a narrow, high-risk export channel where cargoes move quietly, tracking signals disappear, and confirmation only emerges once vessels are already outside the Gulf.

The news comes as Iran laid out a process for seeking approvals to cross the Strait, though shipowners and executives are wary of being the first to test it out, especially after Tuesday’s attack on an Adnoc tanker, which the UAE blamed on Iran.

WEATHER- We’re in for highs of 41-42°C in Dubai and Abu Dhabi today, before it cools down to 28°C overnight.

Riyadh to Mumbai. Abu Dhabi to Singapore. Dubai to London. Cairo to Shenzhen.

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At the movies 🎥

A new Abu Dhabi-backed horror film is hitting the big screen this week: Hokum, a new horror film produced with backing from Image Nation Abu Dhabi, a UAE-based production studio — and partly shot in the UAE — is in cinemas this week. The film has already amassed solid reviews with an 88% Rotten Tomatoes score and three stars from the Guardian.

The positive reception is welcome news for the UAE, which has been working to cement its position as a regional production hub, competing with similar efforts from the likes of Saudi Arabia, which also backed a USD 150 mn epic that has comparably flopped on its release over the past weekend.

Watch this space

MANUFACTURING — Adnoc Drilling is targeting a 50-50 revenue split from manufacturing and drilling services over the next five years, as it shifts from its traditional pure-play rig operator model, CFO Youssef Salem told state news agency Wam on the sidelines of Make It In the Emirates.

The numbers: The company currently generates c.USD 5 bn in annual revenue, with drilling activities accounting for USD 3.5 bn (70%) and oilfield services and manufacturing contributing USD 1.5 bn (30%).

But, Enterprise, what would a drilling company manufacture? The ADX-listed firm is working on localizing the production of drilling tools and measurement services as a way of insulating itself against supply chain disruptions and offering value-added services for export, Salem added.

The move comes as part of a wider shift among national companies towards maintaining healthy, resilient local supply chains and exporting their products and services, with NMDC Energy also planning to localize more of its products and increase the share of local inputs in products.

Speaking of Adnoc… the oil giant is preparing to hit the gas on unconventional oil and gas in the wake of its exit from Opec. The firm plans to make a ‌final investment decision this year on its unconventional gas project with TotalEnergies, and to approve another unconventional oil project soon after, Reuters quotes its Upstream CEO Musabbeh al Kaabi as saying.

The project? It has been in pilot production for over a year, and uses advanced drilling techniques similar to those used for US shale gas, Al Kaabi said. The project is located in Diyab and could take about 40 years to develop and produce. Total operates the exploration phase of the concession with a 40% interest, while Adnoc holds the remaining 60% stake.

Why now? It fits with the originally intended timeline, but it also comes as the UAE looks to become an independent swing producer following its Opec exit, prioritizing market share and resource monetization over the price-maintenance strategies favored by its former Opec peers.

DEBT — FAB is back in the market for a fresh USD sukuk: First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has mandated a USD-denominated five-year benchmark sukuk, according to a press release. The sukuk will be issued under the bank’s USD 5 bn trust certificate program and will be listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The details: The issuance will follow a regulation S senior unsecured Wakala Murabaha structure and is expected to be rated in line with the lender. Initial price thoughts were set around 115 bps over US treasuries.

The issuance would be FAB’s fourth this year, following a GBP 450 mn bond and USD750 mn Formosa offering in February, and a USD 750 mn benchmark issuance in January.

This comes as regional lenders begin to return to debt markets after a quieter spell in March and earlier in April due to the regional conflict. Emirates NBD reopened the regional AT1 market with a sukuk issuance last month, with orders of more than three times the issuance size signaling confidence in UAE capital markets.

ADVISORS- Joint lead managers and bookrunners include Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Bank ABC, Dubai Islamic Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Kuwait International Bank, KFH Capital, and Standard Chartered, which is also acting as billing and delivery bank.

Data point

AED 89.6 bn — that’s how much UAE-listed companies handed back to shareholders in 2025, according to the Capital Market Authority’s annual report 2025 (pdf). Payouts on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange totalled AED 45.7 bn, while Dubai Financial Market accounted for AED 43.9 bn.

Banks led by a wide margin, distributing AED 33.36 bn, followed by real estate at AED 13.2 bn, energy, telecoms, and utilities.

Foreign investors remained net buyers during the year. Net foreign inflows reached AED 18.7 bn, with AED 14.1 bn of this flowing into Abu Dhabi markets and AED 4.6 bn into Dubai. Institutional investors also posted net inflows of around AED 1.2 bn.

The big story abroad

Mixed messaging over the US-Iran negotiations continues this morning, with President Trump vowing to bomb Tehran “at a much higher level” if an agreement isn’t reached soon. Trump’s post came after media reports of the two sides inching closer to ending the war and setting a framework for nuclear negotiations, with Iran’s response expected through Pakistani mediators by Thursday’s end.

Meanwhile, ceasefires seem to be shaking everywhere: Israel targeted an elite Hezbollah commander, its first strike on Beirut’s suburbs since the ceasefire in Lebanon. An attack on the Gaza Strip also targeted the son of Hamas’ chief Khalil Al Haia amid a renewed bombing campaign.

Over in the tech world: A tie-up between Anthropic and SpaceX will give the AI lab access to the Colossus 1 data center — and see the two explore opportunities for building data centers in space.

Also worth reading this morning:

• A “systemic jet fuel shortage” threatens summer travel in Asia and Europe.
• CNN founder Ted Turner passed away at 87.
• Apple agreed to a USD 250 mn settlement over delayed Siri AI features.

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