ADNOC adds $2 billion in K-SURE backed green financing, marking its first facility supported by a Korean export credit agency.
Total green funding reaches $5 billion in 18 months, reinforcing ADNOC’s use of sustainable finance to support lower carbon investments.
The deal deepens UAE South Korea economic ties while aligning ADNOC’s capital strategy with global sustainable finance standards.
ADNOC has signed a $2 billion green financing facility backed by Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE), expanding the state energy company’s sustainable funding pool to $5 billion in just 18 months. The agreement supports ADNOC’s lower carbon investments and places export credit agencies at the center of its evolving sustainable finance strategy.
The deal was announced during the official visit of His Excellency Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, to South Korea, where he met with K-SURE President and Chairman Youngjin Jang. The timing and setting underline the growing role of energy transition finance in bilateral economic diplomacy.
Structuring Green Finance At Scale
The K-SURE backed facility is structured under ADNOC’s Sustainable Finance Framework, which governs how the company raises and deploys capital for eligible green and transition projects. The framework is designed to ensure proceeds are directed toward investments that support emissions reductions and energy system transformation, while remaining consistent with international market expectations.
Sustainable Fitch provided an independent Second Party Opinion on the framework, confirming its alignment with global sustainable finance principles. Such third party validation has become increasingly important for sovereign linked issuers and national oil companies as scrutiny of transition finance intensifies across capital markets.
For ADNOC, the transaction adds credibility to its claim that sustainable finance is not an adjunct to its balance sheet but an embedded funding channel for its longer term strategy.
Expanding Export Credit Agency Partnerships
The K-SURE facility marks ADNOC’s first green financing arrangement backed by a Korean export credit agency. It follows a $3 billion transaction completed in 2024 with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, also structured as green financing.
Together, the two deals bring ADNOC’s total green funding to $5 billion over an 18 month period. That pace is notable for a national oil company operating at ADNOC’s scale, particularly as export credit agencies increasingly align their mandates with climate and sustainability objectives.
Khaled Al Zaabi, ADNOC Group Chief Financial Officer, said: “This facility reflects ADNOC’s commitment to financing the transformation of energy systems while maintaining strong capital discipline. Through our partnership with K-SURE, we are expanding access to green finance, deepening our economic ties with South Korea and strengthening ADNOC’s position as a leader in lower carbon energy.”
The involvement of Asian ECAs also highlights shifting dynamics in transition finance, as capital providers in Japan and South Korea play a growing role in supporting decarbonization pathways across the Middle East.
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Linking Capital Strategy To Emissions Targets
ADNOC positions itself as one of the least carbon intensive oil and gas producers globally, and has committed to reducing its operational carbon emissions intensity by 25 percent by 2030. The company is investing $23 billion to decarbonize its operations and accelerate the development of new energy businesses, including hydrogen, geothermal and renewables.
These investments sit alongside ADNOC’s participation in global climate initiatives. The company is a founding member of the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter, whose signatories have committed to zero methane emissions by 2030 and net zero by or before 2050.
For investors and policymakers, the financing signals how ADNOC intends to balance continued hydrocarbons production with rising expectations around emissions performance, transparency and capital discipline.
What Executives And Investors Should Take Away
The K-SURE backed facility illustrates how sustainable finance structures are becoming a core funding tool for national energy companies, rather than a niche instrument. It also shows how export credit agencies are adapting their portfolios to support lower carbon investments without withdrawing from strategic energy relationships.
For the UAE, the deal reinforces the country’s ambition to position its flagship energy company as a credible participant in global transition finance markets. For South Korea, it strengthens economic ties with a key energy supplier while aligning with its own sustainability priorities.
As scrutiny of transition pathways grows, ADNOC’s ability to consistently access green capital at scale will be closely watched across global energy and finance circles.
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