By John Rossomondo
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has unveiled more than AED 60 billion, or roughly $16.3 billion, in local manufacturing opportunities through 2030. The package covers more than 200 essential products and a broad portfolio of critical spare parts that are currently imported, as the company seeks to reduce reliance on overseas supply chains, shorten lead times, speed up procurement, and strengthen operational resilience. The announcement was made on 25 October 2026 at the second Make it with ADNOC Forum at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, held ahead of the ADIPEC energy conference, and was paired with a comprehensive overhaul of the company’s procurement, supplier registration, and In-Country Value frameworks.
Many of the products used across ADNOC’s projects and operations remain largely imported. These span rotating equipment and power systems; electrical, control and automation systems; drilling and completion equipment; chemicals and catalysts; piping, fabrication and heavy equipment; and spare parts and advanced manufacturing. Local production is intended to reduce exposure to global supply disruptions while supporting faster project delivery and maintenance. Specific items highlighted for localization include electrical submersible pumps, oil country tubular goods, seamless pipes, compressors, and central coolers, while some categories such as wellheads and drilling fluids have already been localized. Omar Abdulla Alnuaimi, ADNOC Group Chief for Commercial and In-Country Value, described the opportunity set as “not 200 products only. These are opportunities, partnerships, industries, and a whole value chain.”
His Excellency Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, framed the initiative as an invitation for manufacturers and investors to build lasting capabilities in the UAE. “ADNOC’s growth creates a powerful opportunity to deepen the UAE’s industrial strength,” he said. “Our next phase is about giving manufacturers and investors the confidence to act: clarity on what we need, visibility of when we need it, and a simpler route to compete for our business… Every product we can competitively manufacture here strengthens our ability to deliver.” The company is collaborating with the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology and the Abu Dhabi Investment Office to connect the identified demand with industrial support, access to the national industrial database, and financing through the National Industrial Resilience Fund, and it signed memorandums of understanding with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office and KEZAD Group on the sidelines of the forum.
The latest package builds on the In-Country Value program that ADNOC launched in 2018. By the end of 2025 the program had redirected more than AED 307 billion into the UAE economy, supported the localization of more than 130 products, the development or expansion of 95 factories, and employment opportunities for more than 27,500 Emiratis in participating private-sector companies. Annual contribution under the program rose from AED 18 billion in its first year to AED 65 billion in 2025. ADNOC has already reached AED 80 billion of its AED 90 billion local manufacturing target for 2030, and the new opportunities are designed to convert remaining demand into industrial investment aligned with the broader “Make it in the Emirates” strategy.
To make these opportunities more accessible, ADNOC is transforming how companies qualify and compete for its business. The redesigned supplier registration and prequalification process targets an up to 80 percent reduction in time, halves documentation requirements, and removes prequalification for 60 percent of service categories, with artificial intelligence supporting document verification and data reuse through a single-window platform. Purchasing cycles are aimed to shorten by up to 40 percent. From 1 November, commercial and In-Country Value offers will be assessed together in a single evaluation model, typically weighted 70 percent commercial and 30 percent In-Country Value, retiring the previous bid-matching approach, with requirements scaled to contract size so that contracts below AED 2 million are exempt from In-Country Value requirements and those below AED 50 million face no retention obligations. The Local+ program, which requires engineering, procurement and construction contractors on new tenders to source relevant products from approved UAE manufacturers, has been expanded to more than 100 manufacturers, up from 70 when it launched in May 2026.
These measures form part of a broader commercial shift toward more agile, competitive, strategic, and forward-looking procurement that provides earlier visibility of ADNOC’s demand pipeline. The forum also marked eight years of the In-Country Value program with the launch of excellence awards recognizing companies, employees, and partners for contributions to local manufacturing, Emiratization, and supplier development. Officials presented the package as the next phase of converting the company’s substantial procurement spend into durable UAE manufacturing capacity, skilled jobs, and more resilient supply chains that can serve both domestic needs and export markets.
