Ghasha

The Ghasha gas development is one of the world's largest offshore sour-gas projects, located in Abu Dhabi's territorial waters in the Arabian Gulf approximately 300 kilometres north-west of Abu Dhabi city. Operated by ADNOC, it holds an estimated 50 trillion standard cubic feet of gas reserves and is designed to produce up to 1.5 billion standard cubic feet per day on full plateau. A drone strike hit the Ghasha field area in February 2026, part of Iran's broader campaign targeting Gulf Energy infrastructure following the outbreak of the Iran-UAE conflict. ADNOC announced plans on 18 May to double export capacity through Fujairah by 2027 as a permanent Hormuz bypass, reducing the strategic exposure of offshore fields like Ghasha.

Ghasha is technically complex because its reservoirs contain high concentrations of hydrogen sulphide, requiring specialised sour-gas processing infrastructure. ADNOC awarded development contracts worth approximately $15 billion in 2019-2020, with a consortium including Italy's ENI, Germany's Wintershall Dea, Austria's OMV, and South Korea's KOGAS. First gas was targeted for 2025; the conflict has complicated commissioning timelines.

As Gulf Energy infrastructure came under systematic attack in 2026, Ghasha became a symbol of the UAE's vulnerability: a high-value, remote, difficult-to-defend offshore asset whose disruption would have cascading effects on UAE gas supply and LNG export commitments. Iran's demonstrated willingness to strike offshore platforms across the Gulf — including the Shah Gas Field, Habshan, and Qatari facilities — put Ghasha in the direct target set for any further escalation.