LONDON/HOUSTON/SINGAPORE, Nov. 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wood Mackenzie | www.woodmac.com

The Middle East conflict has tested ADNOC, Saudi Aramco and QatarEnergy, while highlighting sharp differences in export flexibility and portfolio diversification. Although all three companies remain resilient, the conflict has increased competing demands on capital, expertise and management attention, strengthening the role of partnerships at home and abroad.

Bypass routes, ship-to-ship shuttle transfers and a partial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz have allowed Aramco and ADNOC to increase combined operating cash flow by around $35 billion, or 25%, against pre-war estimates.

But the recovery remains fragile and bypasses carry their own risks, as Houthi attacks on the East-West pipeline and Red Sea shipping have shown. Flows through the Strait are only partly restored and the windfall depends on elevated prices. QatarEnergy has taken the biggest hit, just as the North Field expansion was due to lift liquefaction capacity from 77 to 142 mmtpa.

In the near term, all three NOCs are focused on restoring capacity and strengthening export resilience. Over the longer term, the conflict will reshape business development priorities – domestic resource access, partnerships and M&A – both at home and abroad.

“The conflict has increased the number of competing priorities facing Middle East NOCs,” said Neivan Boroujerdi, Director, Corporate Research, Wood Mackenzie. “ADNOC, Aramco and QatarEnergy all face different challenges, but each is balancing domestic expansion, international growth and resilience simultaneously. Capital is not the constraint. Access to technology, markets and operational capability will shape the next phase, strengthening the role of partnerships across the sector."

Key findings:

 

  • ADNOC is leading the recovery. Freed from OPEC quotas, it is looking beyond its 5 million b/d target for 2027, with 6 million b/d mooted for the early 2030s. Hopes rest on unconventionals and additional phases at existing concessions. Its global LNG platform, formed in July 2026, targets 47 mmtpa of marketable LNG by 2035, which would rank it in the top five globally on LNG capacity. Delivering oil growth, gas self-sufficiency and international expansion simultaneously is likely to increase reliance on strategic partners and technical expertise.
  • Saudi Aramco’s domestic gas expansion, and potential LNG exports, may open part of its upstream sector to external participation for the first time. As unconventional gas ramps up, projected sales gas supply of around 180 bcm/y in the early 2030s would outpace domestic demand of around 130 bcm/y, a surplus that could support significant LNG exports. A standalone gas entity could ring-fence gas investment from the oil business and provide a new funding vehicle for domestic gas growth and international LNG opportunities. Equity in that entity could be offered to IOCs or NOCs facilitating LNG swaps, offtake agreements and other commercial arrangements.
  • QatarEnergy faces the greatest strategic challenge due to long-term facility damage, lost production and continued dependence on the Strait. Repair costs could trigger IOC contract extensions, with ExxonMobil among the most exposed. The outcome for IOCs remains uncertain, potentially increasing near-term costs while extending participation. Exploration remains central to QatarEnergy's international strategy, but it should also consider development-stage acquisitions that can accelerate production growth and build technical capability.

 

Background:

Interest among IOCs and international NOCs in Middle East resources will remain high. Uncertain and volatile environments make low-cost barrels attractive, and the Middle East has the lowest of the lot. The region already accounts for around 15% of the Majors’ production today, rising to 17% by 2030. However, elevated geopolitical risk may lead some international companies to become more selective about future exposure and NOCs may need to widen their partnership pool to new entrants.

The conflict has reinforced the strategic rationale for international diversification in gas (ADNOC and Aramco) and exploration (QatarEnergy). But competition for non-Hormuz LNG and US gas will intensify, building on pre-war deals struck largely at or above Wood Mackenzie’s  base-case NPV10. Ultimately, internationalisation is becoming less about growth and more about resilience through diversification. As NOCs balance domestic expansion with international growth ambitions, collaboration with IOCs will be required across upstream, gas and LNG development.

-ENDS-

For further information please contact Wood Mackenzie’s media relations team:

Chris Boba
+44 7408 841129
Chris.Boba@woodmac.com 

Mark Thomton
+1 630 881 6885
Mark.thomton@woodmac.com

Hla Myat Mon
+65 8533 8860  
hla.myatmon@woodmac.com 

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