The UAE’s oil and gas output is projected to rise from 3.4 million barrels per day in 2024 to 4.9 million barrels per day by 2033, a compound annual growth rate of 3.7 percent. That is not a projection built on assumption. It is backed by capital already committed, contracts already awarded, and drilling programmes already underway.
Source: Deloitte / IMARC Group, UAE Oil and Gas Market Outlook.
The question this growth raises is not whether the UAE can fund it. It clearly can. The question is whether the workforce required to deliver it, from EPC execution through to commissioning and ongoing operations, can be mobilised at the same pace as the capital behind it.
The Numbers Behind the Growth
ADNOC’s five-year capital expenditure plan for 2026 to 2030 stands at 150 billion US dollars, approved by its Board of Directors last year. Of that, AED 200 billion, roughly 55 billion US dollars, has been earmarked for new project awards between 2026 and 2028 alone, split between AED 140 billion for upstream oil and gas projects and AED 60 billion for downstream.
ADNOC Gas, the group’s gas processing subsidiary, is separately executing a 28 billion US dollar capex programme through 2030. In August 2026, it awarded 8.2 billion US dollars in EPC contracts for the second and third phases of its Rich Gas Development programme, a 3.9 billion dollar contract to Wison Engineering and a 4.3 billion dollar contract to Tecnimont, taking total investment in that single programme to 13.2 billion US dollars. In July 2026, ADNOC also reached final investment decision on a 6.2 billion US dollar offshore expansion at Umm Shaif, covering three EPC contract awards and a 14-well drilling programme.
Sources: ADNOC, press releases May, July and August 2026; MEED, Adnoc Gas reaffirms $28bn capex for 2026-30; The National, Adnoc bets $55bn on local supply chains to support $150bn capex plan.
Every Contract Award Is a Workforce Commitment
An EPC contract award is not simply a financial figure. Each one translates directly into a workforce requirement, engineers, project managers, HSE professionals, welders, riggers, instrument technicians, pipe fitters, and commissioning specialists, mobilised in line with the contractor’s delivery schedule.
The RGD programme alone will require new gas processing and NGL fractionation trains built at Habshan and Ruwais. The Umm Shaif expansion adds a 14-well drilling programme on top of its EPC scope. Multiplied across a 55 billion dollar, three-year award pipeline, the scale of workforce mobilisation required over the next two to three years is substantial, and it is happening at the same time across multiple contractors competing for the same specialist trades.
Where the Workforce Pressure Concentrates
Live recruitment activity already reflects this. Current listings for UAE oil and gas projects call for structural fitters, structural welders, scaffolders, blasters and painters, riggers, electricians, instrument technicians and HSE officers, frequently specifying ADNOC approval or ADNOC experience as a requirement, with immediate mobilisation preferred.
This pressure is not limited to construction-phase trades. As projects move from EPC into commissioning and operations, demand shifts toward operations and maintenance coordinators, shutdown and turnaround planners, and multidisciplinary technical crews managing preventive and emergency maintenance across plant units.
Source: live UAE oil and gas recruitment listings, August 2026.
The Compliance Layer: ICV and ADNOC Prequalification
ADNOC’s Local+ initiative, launched under its In-Country Value programme, now links 70 qualified UAE manufacturers directly to EPC contractors, with an additional ICV+ top-up credit for sourcing from local suppliers. ADNOC has committed to channelling 60 billion US dollars into the UAE economy over five years through the ICV programme.
For manpower and workforce partners, this matters directly. Contractors delivering ADNOC-awarded work increasingly need ICV-certified and ADNOC-prequalified partners across their supply chain, workforce providers included, not only their equipment and materials suppliers.
Source: The National, Adnoc bets $55bn on local supply chains to support $150bn capex plan; ADNOC press release, May 2026.
Why Workforce Availability, Not Capital, Is the Real Constraint
Capital for this growth phase is committed. Contractors are named. What remains far less certain is whether the specialist trades required to execute it are available in the numbers needed, at the pace project schedules demand.
This is happening against a UAE labour market already under strain. Three out of four UAE hiring managers report that finding qualified candidates has become noticeably harder, and independent research places the share of employers facing a critical skills gap as high as 75 percent depending on sector and role type. Oil and gas EPC and shutdown roles, being highly specialised and often ADNOC-experience dependent, sit squarely within that constrained pool.
Source: People Connect Global, UAE & GCC Hiring Outlook 2025-2026.
What This Means for Contractors and Workforce Partners
For EPC contractors and operators executing against ADNOC’s award timeline, workforce mobilisation planning needs to move in step with contract award schedules, not behind them. Shutdown and turnaround windows in particular leave little room for delayed mobilisation, given their fixed and often short duration.
This is why ADNOC-experienced, ICV-certified manpower partners with an established recruitment network and rapid mobilisation capability are becoming a more integral part of project planning rather than a resource sourced reactively once a shortfall appears.
How Sky High HR Solutions Supports Oil & Gas Workforce Mobilisation
Sky High HR Solutions is an ADNOC prequalified and TAQA approved manpower supply and recruitment company operating across Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and holds ICV certification, giving EPC contractors and operators a workforce partner that already meets the compliance and In-Country Value standards required on ADNOC-related contracts.
Our in-house recruitment team maintains active talent networks across the trades and disciplines EPC and shutdown work depends on, including welders, riggers, scaffolders, instrument technicians, pipe fitters, HSE officers, and project engineers, supported by on-time mobilisation once a requirement is confirmed.
Our On-Demand Labour Supply Licence allows manpower to be deployed rapidly against confirmed contract awards or shutdown windows, from a single specialist to a full project team, backed by payroll administration, WPS processing, and visa support so contractors can focus on delivery.
If your project is mobilising against an ADNOC award, an EPC contract, or an upcoming shutdown and turnaround window, get in touch with Sky High HR Solutions to discuss your workforce requirements.
