When we hear that a country has some of the world’s largest gas reserves, we often imagine that all it takes is to drill a well and the gas will flow. But the deeper I’ve looked into this sector, the more I’ve realized that much of the gas underground doesn’t come out on its own; it has to be coaxed from between the rocks.

That’s why ADNOC’s announcement of its new project in Ruwais caught my attention: it’s not about easy-to-produce gas, but a more challenging kind.

What did ADNOC announce?

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has taken the final investment decision on the Diyab Field project in the Ruwais area, its first large-scale unconventional gas project. Production is scheduled to begin in 2029, at a rate of 345 million standard cubic feet of raw gas per day, for 25 years, with the potential to increase capacity to one billion cubic feet per day in the future.

The gas will be processed at the project site, then transported through new pipelines to the UAE gas network to meet the needs of local industries, strengthen the company’s supplies, and support its plans to expand liquefied natural gas exports.

Speaking at the announcement at ADIPEC 2026, ADNOC Group CEO Sultan Al Jaber said the project was an important step toward maximizing the value of Abu Dhabi’s vast gas resources and meeting growing demand for reliable supplies, both in the UAE and abroad.

What is unconventional gas?

In conventional fields, gas accumulates in porous rocks that allow it to move, so it flows into a well relatively easily once reached. Unconventional gas, by contrast, is trapped in very dense, low-permeability rocks, such as shale and tight formations, and does not flow on its own.

Extracting it requires more complex techniques, most notably horizontal drilling, which extends through the rock layer over long distances, and hydraulic fracturing, which creates tiny cracks in the rock so the gas can flow. As a result, producing it is generally more costly and complex than producing conventional gas.

For anyone puzzled by the figures: a “standard cubic foot” is a unit for measuring gas volume at standard temperature and pressure conditions. One billion cubic feet per day is equivalent to one thousand million cubic feet—about three times the project’s initial capacity.

Why turn to it when the country has vast reserves?

It may seem odd for a country to seek out hard-to-produce gas when it has around 298 trillion cubic feet of conventional gas. But the answer, as I see it, lies in ever-growing demand: power plants, local industries, and liquefied natural gas export plans all need additional supplies. The UAE’s unconventional gas resources are also estimated at around 160 trillion cubic feet—a resource that only becomes valuable if it is extracted.

The Diyab Field project is not the only one. Last July, ADNOC allocated $6.2 billion to develop the gas cap at the Umm Shaif field, with production of up to 600 million standard cubic feet of gas and liquids per day expected to begin in 2030, in partnership with TotalEnergies, Eni, and China National Petroleum Corporation. It also signed an agreement to develop the gas cap at the Bab field, which is expected to increase production by up to 1.5 billion standard cubic feet per day.

A gas cap is a layer of gas that accumulates above oil in a reservoir. It was once considered a supporting element in oil production, but has since become a source of supply in its own right.

LNG and the shadow of Hormuz

These projects are part of a strategy to more than double Abu Dhabi’s LNG export capacity, consolidate its marketing and trading activities, and reach a target of 47 million tonnes a year by 2035 in volumes handled by the unified platform.

This is happening amid energy market disruptions caused by the Iran war and the resulting impact on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. ADNOC has therefore informed some Asian refiners that part of their seaborne oil supplies is likely to be transported via a new pipeline early next year to bypass the strait.

As I read about these developments, I was reminded that around two decades ago, the United States was building LNG import terminals, believing its domestic production was on the decline. Then the shale gas revolution turned the picture around, and the country became one of the world’s largest LNG exporters. The rocks did not change; the ability to extract what was in them did.

That’s why the best measure of a country’s gas wealth may not be the size of its reserves.

A more realistic measure, as I see it, is the ability to turn those reserves into actual supplies at a reasonable cost and at the right time, then deliver them safely to markets. It’s an equation we know in Saudi Arabia, too, through Jafurah, Aramco’s largest unconventional gas project.

That is why I believe the Diyab Field project is worth examining from an economic perspective—not merely as a new Emirati project, nor as proof that unconventional gas will solve every supply challenge, but as a window onto the broader transformation underway in the region’s gas industry:

moving from relying on easy-to-produce gas to mastering the extraction of harder-to-produce gas.

Note: This article is for informational purposes. It aims to explain the news in a simple, accessible way. The information presented is drawn from published news sources and has been adapted and simplified; it does not represent an official position or statement by any entity. This information may be updated after publication, so readers are advised to consult official sources for full details.