As part of its efforts to diversify its income away from oil, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has established a new organisation that will offer the UAE’s first bond.

After Saudi’s Aramco and QatarEnergy, ADNOC will be the latest Middle Eastern national oil corporation to look into the bond market.

Saudi Aramco raised $6 billion in June of last year through its first Islamic bond denominated in US dollars, with orders totalling $60 billion. QatarEnergy, formerly Qatar Petroleum, raised $12.5 billion in a four-tranche bond later that month, making it the largest corporate issue in the Middle East and the largest debt offering in developing markets for 2021.

ADNOC has relied on bank loans to support its expansion, which includes plans to increase oil production capacity to 5 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2030, diversify into blue and green hydrogen, and invest in collaborative renewable projects to power its oil operations.

ADNOC Group has established a new fully owned subsidiary, ADNOC Murban RSC Ltd, which will serve as the company’s primary debt capital markets issuance and rating entity, according to the Abu Dhabi-based oil company.

According to ADNOC, ADNOC Murban will be the issuer of the first bond for the UAE’s state oil firm, with the sale expected later this year. ADNOC Murban is expected to be rated “AA” by Standard & Poor’s, “Aa2” by Moody’s Investor Services, and “AA” by Fitch Ratings – aligned with ratings assigned to ADNOC’s shareholder, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

“ADNOC Murban intends to closely monitor market conditions and explore potential funding opportunities,” the UAE oil firm added.