Abu Dhabi’s national oil company is considering building a new liquified natural gas export facility outside the Strait of Hormuz and is committing to $8.2 billion in investments to boost gas production to meet booming demand. 

ADNOC Gas is looking at options on the UAE’s east-coast, where the emirate of Fujairah borders the Gulf of Oman, but has not made any final decision on the plans, Chief Financial Officer Peter van Driel told Bloomberg. 

The UAE is on a mission to eventually reduce its dependence on the Strait to zero by building new oil pipelines to Fujairah and expanding internal freight networks via road and rail. 

Such a facility would give the UAE a competitive advantage against its neighbors, particularly Qatar — a major gas producer — which is largely dependent on the route. 

ADNOC ships have been repeatedly attacked while transiting the Strait, with a missile strike on one of its tankers on Saturday morning bringing the total number of attacks on the company’s vessels to 16. No injuries were reported in the latest incident.

Separately, ADNOC Gas will build new gas-processing facilities to handle increased volumes amid fast-growing demand both domestically and from Asia, van Driel said. It comes months after the UAE exited OPEC, freeing it from quota restrictions. 

The UAE has activated emergency bankruptcy protections for businesses whose financial distress can be directly linked to the Iran war, temporarily shielding them from creditor-led insolvency proceedings and giving them more time to restructure.

The measures apply to companies seeking court protection after Feb. 28, when hostilities escalated, and allow them to negotiate with lenders and suppliers without having to file for bankruptcy due to temporary payment difficulties.

Courts can also allow existing management to remain in control, permit companies to continue paying staff and approve new funding while restructuring talks are underway.

The rules are designed to prevent otherwise viable businesses from failing due to short-term cash-flow problems and to encourage creditors and debtors to reach restructuring agreements.

Mubadala is reported to be considering investing as much as ¥1 trillion ($6.3 billion) to build what could become Japan’s biggest artificial intelligence data center.

The Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund would lead a round of investment into the 500-megawatt project in the Akita prefecture of northern Japan, according to reports by Bloomberg and Japan’s Nikkei newspaper. Total investment surrounding the project could reach as much as ¥2 trillion.

Japan is gaining attention from global investors competing for AI infrastructure assets, as it is seen as a relatively stable market amid conflicts in the Middle East and Europe and escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China. 

The Japanese government is planning to designate several regions, including Akita, as investment zones for AI and semiconductor manufacturing, along with offering financial incentives.  

Mubadala has become one of the world’s leading global investors in AI, largely through MGX, a partnership with G42, which recently participated in the buyout of U.S.-based Aligned Data Centers. In June, MGX was also reported to be exploring the potential acquisition of Singapore-based data center operator DayOne.

Abu Dhabi’s national oil company ADNOC is spending $1.3 billion to bolster its fleet of tankers as it continues to ramp up Gulf exports despite threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

ADNOC Logistics & Services bought six very large crude carriers, almost doubling its current fleet of eight, as well as five very large gas carriers.

ADNOC has been using tactics including shipping under darkness with transponders switched off and military escorts to shuttle crude and other refined products out of the Gulf.

Using its own vessels gives the company greater freedom to make these riskier voyages, as it takes a more assertive and expansive stance following its departure from OPEC.

The UAE has also been increasing oil shipments from the eastern emirate of Fujairah, which sits outside the Strait, via a cross-country pipeline. ADNOC L&S will take delivery of the vessels this quarter.

ADNOC has managed to move more oil through the Strait of Hormuz over the past two months than any other producer.

Abu Dhabi’s national oil company has been using tactics, including switching off transponders, to make ships less detectable as they pass through the narrow passage to exit the Gulf.

ADNOC was the only Middle Eastern producer to reach pre-war levels of seaborne exports in June and July, according to estimates from Vortexa, Bloomberg reports.

It comes as Iran said a deal negotiated with Oman for proposed shipping lanes was in the final stages, raising hopes that an agreement to open the Strait will come within days.

Brent is trading near $80 a barrel, switching between modest gains and losses as traders await an update.

LIV Golf has secured a lead investor, according to CEO Scott O’Neil, in a development that looks likely to save the rebel league from filing for bankruptcy after the exit of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund earlier this year.

Without identifying the parties involved, O’Neil said the investor had signed an agreement approved by LIV’s board, while others have shown interest in taking minority stakes.

Bloomberg reported that BC Partners’ credit arm was the party leading the group of investors.

“This is a moment that we’re very happy about, that we’re thrilled to announce, that we’re proud to be a part of,” O’Neil said on Thursday. “It’s certainly an investor of weight, and we’re all locked in on making it happen.”

LIV went into crisis in April when the PIF said it would withdraw its backing, following years of heavy losses and weak television audiences.

The league had started laying the groundwork for a potential U.S. bankruptcy filing if it failed to raise new money and also notified employees in the U.S. and U.K. last month that they faced mass layoffs. 

Wynn Resorts said its first Middle East casino will open in September 2027, after construction delays linked to the US-Iran conflict pushed back the timeline.

The cost of the project, located on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al-Khaimah, has risen by $600 million to $5.7 billion due to higher material and shipping expenses.

CEO Craig Billings said during a company briefing that the company remains confident in the UAE’s ability to manage geopolitical risks, citing the resilience of Dubai’s aviation sector, Bloomberg reports.

The resort will feature 22 restaurants, an events center, private prayer rooms and a grand ballroom, joining a broader wave of entertainment developments in the region.

Saudi Arabia plans to begin construction within two to three months of a giant AI data center that’s part of its NEOM megaproject.

DataVolt, the data center’s developer, is lining up customers for the first phase of the 1.5-gigawatt AI venture, which is backed by an initial $5 billion investment and targeted to begin operations in 2028, CEO Rajit Nanda tells Arabian Gulf Business Insight.

The installation at Oxagon, NEOM’s port and industrial hub on the Red Sea, is designed as an “AI factory,” pairing massive computing power with renewable energy, cooling systems and high-speed connectivity, Nanda said.

The massive AI data center is part of a reset for NEOM as Saudi Arabia grapples with budget deficits caused by volatile oil prices and directs spending toward projects with clearer commercial returns. 

That has meant scaling back The Line, the planned 170-kilometer (105-mile) linear city projected to cost more than $1 trillion, and delaying Trojena, the $38 billion mountain resort that was forced to give up hosting the 2029 Asian Winter Games because construction fell behind schedule.