XRG considers US gas deals as part of expansion plan

The global investment unit of state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is reportedly evaluating 29 potential deals to scale up its natural gas business in the US.

The investment will run into “billions of dollars” and help create an integrated global gas business, the Financial Times reported, quoting XRG’s chief investment officer Nameer Siddiqui.

The company aims to diversify its commodity exposure and expand across the entire gas value chain, including exploration, owning pipelines and processing plants, as well as liquefaction and regasification facilities.

Siddiqui said XRG is “committed to deploying tens of billions of dollars into the US energy value chain despite the Iran war”.

“The US is a market where we want to be bold,” he said, as XRG evaluates controlled transactions, drilling joint ventures and minority stakes as part of its diversification drive.

In January, XRG upped its stake in the Rio Grande LNG plant in Texas, one of the world’s largest export facilities.

This month, Rainer Seele, president of XRG’s chemicals platform, told Bloomberg that the company was exploring merger and acquisition opportunities in Europe.

XRG remains positive about Europe’s long-term outlook, despite a critical view among many investors, he said.

The Adnoc subsidiary is targeting 20-25 million metric tonnes of LNG capacity per year by 2035. It was set up to pursue acquisitions in the natural gas, chemicals and energy sectors and has acquired Germany’s Covestro for $17 billion. 

In March, 2025 the UAE committed to a 10-year, $1.4 trillion investment framework with the US during Trump’s three-nation GCC visit. US President Donald Trump last week said that America was considering providing a currency swap to the UAE as part of support for its Gulf ally.

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