TAQA squeeze-out, ADNOC's LNG platform, IHC-Adani $11.5bn, tankers hit in Hormuz and Yemen
Abu Dhabi's biggest corporate story of the year is taking shape — and oil's risk premium hasn't gone.
Good morning. ADQ is moving to take TAQA private in an ~$81bn buyout. ADNOC has combined its LNG marketing and trading into a single ADGM platform targeting 47 mtpa by 2035. A tanker was struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz. A cargo vessel came under attack off the coast of Yemen. Oil drifted lower. Netanyahu told the cabinet: “Deal or no deal, Iran won’t get nukes.”
ADPower moves to squeeze out TAQA minority shareholders; delisting expected
Abu Dhabi Power Corporation — an ADQ subsidiary — has issued a mandatory squeeze-out notice to the remaining 1.88% of TAQA shareholders, setting the acquisition price at AED 2.70 per share. ADPower raised its stake to 98.12% last month, clearing the threshold required to trigger the process under UAE regulations. A General Assembly will be convened within 45 days of the notice; settlement is expected on 13 August. No voluntary trading suspension is planned.
Delisting is not explicitly stated, but it is the logical conclusion. “Once the mandatory acquisition is completed, the rationale for maintaining a public listing becomes significantly reduced,” Milan Azar of XTB MENA told Al Etihad.
Watch TAQA sukuk holders and regional utility comparables — DEWA and NCP.
ADNOC launches integrated LNG platform targeting 47 mtpa by 2035
ADNOC has combined the LNG marketing arms of ADNOC Gas and XRG into a single ADGM platform. ADNOC Trading remains the counterparty on all trades; existing customer contracts are unchanged. Rashid Al Mazrouei, formerly ADNOC Gas’s Senior Vice President of Marketing, is now Chief Marketing and Origination Officer for the new entity.
Sultan Al Jaber said the platform brings together marketing, trading and shipping into “a single hub.” The 47 mtpa target by 2035 puts Abu Dhabi alongside Shell, TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy on the LNG book. XRG’s Texas and Vaca Muerta positions sit under one commercial roof for the first time.
Tanker hit by projectile in Hormuz; cargo vessel attacked off Yemen
A commercial oil tanker was struck by an unidentified projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, per UKMTO. Bridge damage; crew safe. Separately, a cargo vessel off Yemen’s Red Sea coast reported an attack by armed assailants around 30 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah — a skiff approached, opened fire, then retreated to a larger vessel with its AIS off. Ship and crew are safe.
Iran’s joint military command warned tankers that do not follow the approved Hormuz routes of a “forceful response.” The shipping risk premium has not gone.
Oil slips as the OPEC+ hike lands
Brent drifted lower on Monday after OPEC+ confirmed the 188,000 bpd August hike, and as Hormuz exports continued to recover. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq are only now bringing back barrels stuck during the war. Abu Dhabi’s Murban is holding firmer than Brent, with the Dubai contract widening.
Netanyahu: “Deal or no deal, Iran won’t get nukes”
Netanyahu told the cabinet that he and Trump “share the same goals” — enrichment stopped, material removed, sites dismantled. “Deal or no deal, as long as I’m prime minister, Iran will not have nuclear weapons.” A White House visit is under discussion.
A former Israeli ambassador called the Iran MoU “a massive surrender” in the same news cycle. The next US-Iran round is in Islamabad on 11 July. Watch how the White House frames Gulf partners in any Netanyahu photo-op — the Iron Dome in Abu Dhabi disclosure is on the record.
IDF strikes Hezbollah cell in south Lebanon; Netanyahu denies “no tunnels” order
The IDF struck a Hezbollah cell in south Lebanon and warned it would keep hitting truce violations. Netanyahu dismissed reports that Trump had told Israel to hold off on Lebanon tunnel operations as “a fairy tale and fake news.”
The cabinet is debating a partial pullback from south Lebanon. Lebanon reconstruction and Gulf donor conversations stay in a holding pattern.
IHC and Adani sign $11.5bn aluminium JV in Odisha
IHC and Adani Group signed an MoU with Odisha for a 50-50 joint venture comprising a 4 mtpa alumina refinery, a 2 mtpa aluminium smelter, a 4,000-megawatt captive power plant, and a 1 mtpa downstream manufacturing park. At $11.5 billion, it is the largest foreign investment in India’s metals sector. Logistics run through Adani Ports’ Dhamra Port. IHC’s third major Adani tie-up in a year.
Iran in oil talks with Japan; US waiver expires 21 August
Iran has started talks with three Japanese companies on crude purchases under the US sanctions waiver issued on 22 June. The waiver runs to 21 August — not long enough for a full Gulf-to-Japan shipping cycle. Buyers are conditioning any deal on an extension. No orders placed. Independent Chinese refineries are the main current buyers.
The waiver expiry and Islamabad on 11 July are running together. No extension means Japan and South Korea stay out. China remains the only market absorbing Iranian barrels at scale.
Iraq approves pipeline study with Chevron and Qatar’s UCC
Iraq’s cabinet approved the Basra Oil Company to sign a heads of agreement with Chevron, Capital TI, and Qatar’s United Company for Commerce to study two pipeline routes: Basra-Haditha-Kirkuk-Ceyhan and Basra-Haditha-Baniyas. KBR is advising. No financial commitments yet.
Kirkuk-Ceyhan has been offline since March 2023 after an arbitration ruling triggered a Turkish shutdown, cutting roughly 450,000 bpd. A northern route gives Baghdad a second export path and cuts its Hormuz dependency — directly relevant as transit-toll talks move to Islamabad.
Arada Capital launches $5bn GCC real-estate platform
Arada has launched Arada Capital, an ADGM fund management platform targeting $5bn in assets under management within four years. FSRA in-principle approval granted. Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal chairs it; former Macquarie and Citigroup executive Moustafa Fahour OAM is CEO.
Watch this week
TAQA/ADQ: Formal ADQ statement and ADX filing. TAQA sukuk holders and DEWA/NCP are the read-through.
Hormuz tanker: UKMTO attribution and any war-risk insurance response from ADNOC L&S or DP World.
Islamabad, 11 July: Pakistani MoFA, Iranian MFA and State Department readouts. Tehran’s delegation — shaped after Khamenei’s burial in Mashhad on 9 July — signals both succession posture and negotiating line.
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