Компании ОПЕК+ вернутся к выпуску облигаций для финансирования роста и восстановления

PHOTO Gulf national oil companies are expected to fund their growth plans through a combination of debt issuances and strong operating cashflows, with the UAE’s ADNOC seen as the most likely major issuer to return to the market later this year following the postponement of a planned transaction. Rawan Oueidat, director of corporate ratings at S&P Global, told Zawya that regional energy companies continue to press ahead with their investment programmes, but with capex requirements expected to outstrip the capacity of private funding sources, companies will likely need to supplement internal cashflows with public debt issuance. ADNOC appears best positioned among Gulf energy giants to tap debt markets in the second half of 2026. According to Farah Mourad, senior market analyst at IG Group UAE, the company's planned $2 billion dim sum bond was fully structured before being postponed in March 2026, due to regional market volatility. The Abu Dhabi energy group last raised debt through a $1.5 billion sukuk issued by ADNOC Murban in April 2025, following its $4 billion debut conventional bond sale the previous September. Saudi Aramco, by contrast, has little immediate need to raise additional funding. Mourad noted that the company had already covered its near-term financing requirements through a multi-tranche $4 billion bond issue completed in January and February, making another transaction in the third quarter unlikely. While there has been no new post-conflict issuance to gauge current investor demand directly, she said the strong oversubscription levels seen in Aramco's recent bond sale underscored the continuing appeal of its credit profile. Ahmed Shams El Din, managing director and global head of research at EFG Hermes, said that “Aramco has room for more debt, but if they leverage more it won't be related to operational reasons," citing the company's robust free cash flow generation. Mourad echoed that view, noting that Aramco's gearing remains comfortably below that of many global integrated oil peers, providing considerable headroom for future borrowing if required. Not all Gulf energy companies have been active debt issuers in recent years. QatarEnergy and Oman's OQ, for example, have largely stayed away from international bond markets since 2021. Any return by these issuers would likely reflect funding optimisation and capital management objectives rather than geopolitical considerations, Omar Musharraf, managing director and head of debt capital markets at Arqaam Capital, told Zawya. Future issuance, he added, would probably be driven by growth investments, refinancing requirements, and balance-sheet management. Industry estimates place the cost of repairing more than 80 damaged energy facilities across the Gulf at roughly $58 billion, while wider regional reconstruction needs could reach $200 billion, according to Musharraf. Of this, near-term repair costs are more likely to be funded through internal cashflows, insurance recoveries and existing bank facilities, particularly for large sovereign-backed companies with strong liquidity positions. Longer term, however, financing requirements could be significant, he added. Even so, funding demands are expected to emerge gradually as companies transition from immediate repairs to larger-scale reconstruction, infrastructure resilience projects and strategic investments. Should Gulf energy companies return to debt markets, funding is expected to come through a mix of conventional bonds, sukuk and bank financing. Conventional bonds provide access to a broader global dollar investor base, while sukuk continue to attract strong demand from regional investors. (Reporting by Ahmad Mousa; editing by Brinda Darasha)