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Former BP boss named on Adnoc’s investment board

By Neil Halligan
Bernard Looney, former CEO of BP, will join the board of Adnoc’s XRG Daniel Kramer/Reuters
Bernard Looney, former CEO of BP, will join the board of Adnoc’s XRG
  • XRG will focus on low carbon
  • Bernard Looney former BP CEO
  • Execs from OCI and Blackstone

Bernard Looney, the former CEO of BP, is among the board members of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s new lower carbon energy and chemicals investment company, XRG.

Formed by Adnoc last month, XRG aims to more than double its $80 billion asset value over the next decade by capitalising on the demand for low-carbon energy and chemicals.

The president of the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, endorsed members of the new board, which will be chaired by Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Adnoc. 

Looney, who resigned last year as boss of the British energy giant, is among six high-profile board members of the new energy investment company, with backgrounds in energy, chemicals, infrastructure, investment, technology and sustainability.

The Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris, executive chair of OCI Global, and Jon Gray, president and chief operating officer of the global alternative investment company Blackstone, are the other non-Emiratis appointed to the board. 

Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, CEO of the Abu Dhabi investment firm ADQ, Ahmed Al Mazrouei, chairman of the UAE President’s Office for Strategic Affairs, and Jasem Al Zaabi, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Finance, are the other board members. 

Al Jaber, in an official statement attributed to him, was quoted as saying that XRG was “initially focused on the energy, low carbon and chemicals sectors,” but was “committed to delivering innovative, sustainable and disruptive solutions that create long-term value for partners, customers and stakeholders,” and “supporting the accelerated need for energy in AI.”  

XRG will officially start operations in the first quarter of 2025 and initially focus on developing a global chemicals platform, producing and delivering chemical and speciality products to meet the projected 70 percent increase in global demand by 2050.

It also plans to build an integrated gas portfolio and invest in low-carbon energies and decarbonisation technologies.

Last week Adnoc International Germany Holding, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of XRG, made a $16.3 billion takeover offer for the German chemicals producer Covestro.

The takeover is subject to regulatory conditions, including merger control, foreign investment control and EU foreign subsidies regulation clearances, but is expected to close in the second half of 2025.

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