The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced plans to significantly increase UAE energy investments in the United States, aiming to reach $440 billion by 2035, substantially boosting economic relations with Washington as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gulf tour.
As Trump concluded his regional tour in Abu Dhabi, Sultan Al Jaber, the CEO of ADNOC and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, announced on Friday, May 16.
The spike in investment is an aspect of the UAE’s $1.4 trillion commitment to the American economy, which also includes manufacturing, semiconductors, energy, and artificial intelligence (AI). U.S. energy companies will also make investments in the United Arab Emirates, according to Al Jaber, strengthening a two-way strategic alliance.
“Our partners have committed new investments worth $60 billion in upstream oil and gas, as well as new and unconventional opportunities,” Al Jaber told Trump.
ADNOC affirmed that these expenditures would be spread out over the projects’ duration. The U.S. is a crucial market for ADNOC’s international investment arm XRG, which oversees $80 billion in assets as part of its development.
XRG also entered into a framework agreement with 1PointFive, a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum, to consider investing in a direct air capture project in Kleberg County, Texas. Up to one-third of the cost could be financed by ADNOC.
In addition, ADNOC has transferred stakes in NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG export facility and ExxonMobil’s planned hydrogen plant, both in Texas, to XRG. In order to combine petrochemical assets, such as Borealis and Borouge, the business is also seeking a merger between OMV of Austria and Covestro of Germany.
UAE energy investments in the U.S. already include partnerships with ExxonMobil and Inpex on expanding the Upper Zakum offshore oil field, Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) on the Shah gas field, and EOG Resources, which has secured an exploration concession in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region.
“The agreements reinforce the shared commitment of the UAE and U.S. to maintaining global energy security and the stability of energy markets,” ADNOC said.
A major step toward Abu Dhabi’s goal of becoming a worldwide powerhouse for artificial intelligence, the UAE also signed a historic deal with the United States to acquire cutting-edge AI semiconductors in conjunction with its energy investment drive.
President Trump welcomed the announcements, highlighting the significance of the investment: “We’re making great progress for the $1.4 trillion that the UAE has announced it intends to spend in the United States,” he said in Abu Dhabi.
The White House added that the investment plan will “substantially increase the UAE’s existing investments in the U.S. economy”, particularly in sectors vital to long-term technological and energy competitiveness.
Moreover, Mubadala Energy, a division of the second-biggest sovereign wealth fund in Abu Dhabi, expanded its presence in the United States by acquiring gas asset stakes through an agreement with Kimmeridge, an American energy company.
With the U.S. as a key economic partner, the announcements highlight the UAE energy investment, which is a transition from oil exports alone to a diverse, innovation-led investment strategy. The UAE is establishing itself as a major international investor across both established and emerging energy value chains as the two nations expand their collaboration in the areas of energy, artificial intelligence, and infrastructure.
