ADNOC Supplier Registration: Requirements, ICV and Steps

ADNOC registers and pre-qualifies suppliers once for the whole ADNOC Group, through its Supplier Hub. This guide sets out who can register, the categories, the documents, the free procedure and how the ICV certificate counts in ADNOC tenders under the ICV guidelines in force since 15 March 2026, using ADNOC’s own pages and documents read on 5 October 2026.

Who Can Register

The Supplier Hub registration page lists two requirements: a “License issued by an Abu Dhabi authority” and the correct business activities on that licence (the page says they should be mentioned as “onshore and offshore oil and gas fields and facility services”). ADNOC’s registration and pre-qualification user guide (24 July 2023) defines the supplier types:

• Vendor: supplies products; needs a commercial licence issued by an Abu Dhabi licensing authority, with activities relevant to the products.
• Contractor: supplies services; needs a commercial licence issued by an Abu Dhabi licensing authority, with activities relevant to the services.
• Manufacturer: needs an industrial licence issued by the licensing authority in its emirate.
• Associate: a contractor not based in Abu Dhabi that provides services through an agent.

Overseas manufacturers and associates are represented by an Abu Dhabi based local agent, either under an exclusive agency (“E”, with a certificate from the Ministry of Economy) or a representation agreement (“R”, attested by the UAE embassy in the principal’s home country). If your firm holds only a Dubai mainland or free zone licence, ask ADNOC Supplier Support (8004455) before applying: the Supplier Hub FAQ has a question on suppliers in the UAE but outside Abu Dhabi, but its answer was not readable on our visit.

Categories: Work Groups and Product Groups

You register and pre-qualify for specific categories, not for “ADNOC” in general. The Supplier Hub publishes two lists. Our count of those files (sheets labelled Rev 09102024) gives 966 service work groups under 9 main groups and 1,301 product groups under 24 main groups.

The 9 main service groups are consultancy and engineering services; engineering and construction works (major projects); plants operation and maintenance works; information systems and technology; exploration and production studies and services; drilling support services; HSE and QA; personnel and manpower services; and administration and general services. Firms selling consulting, staffing, IT or office services will usually find their groups under consultancy and engineering, information systems and technology, personnel and manpower, or administration and general services.

The work group file also carries ADNOC’s service classification grades, set by contract values in AED millions:

Source: ADNOC Work Group list, “Grading Criteria” sheet, read on 5 October 2026 (values in AED millions; rows C2 and C4 omitted here). For C1, grade E covers firms exempted from experience requirements or recommended by the technical team, as applicable.

Registration Steps

The Supplier Hub lists the stages and ADNOC’s registration user manual (PDF created January 2026) shows the screens. Together they run as follows:

1. Create an ADNOC Ariba user account, or log in and link an existing SAP Ariba profile.
2. Start the registration request and enter licence details; the fields change with the licence type.
3. Add company details and pin your address on the map.
4. Select subgroups (product groups or work groups) that match your licence activities. Pre-qualification is later enabled only for what you select here.
5. Download, sign and upload the Supplier Declaration, then upload the required documents.
6. Enter ownership and contacts. Owners must total exactly 100%, only one sponsor can be added, and you name a focal point and top leadership.
7. Preview and start the Integrity Due Diligence (IDD). A questionnaire arrives by email; complete and submit it.
8. ADNOC review. When the request is accepted you receive an onboarding email, your profile shows “Registered” and you can start pre-qualification.

On timing, the Supplier Hub home page says ADNOC will review a registration request “and respond within 48 hours”, while the registration service page gives an estimated timeline of 14 days for the whole stage.

Pre-Qualification

Pre-qualification is also centralised for the entire ADNOC Group, with an estimated timeline of 90 days. ADNOC evaluates vendor agreements, experience, HSE and quality documents and classification criteria, then decides whether a facility audit is needed or a desktop assessment is enough. The Supplier Hub lists the minimum documents:

1. At least three executed and completed projects within the last five years, with their value, backed by purchase orders or contracts and a completion certificate from the client for the group you apply for.
2. A reference list.
3. A quality management system (ISO 9001 or equivalent).
4. Relevant infrastructure, resources and internationally recognised certification.
5. For work groups (services), HSE management system documents.

Being registered and pre-qualified makes you a potential bidder, not an invited one: ADNOC’s FAQ says it keeps sole discretion over who is invited to each tender. Tenders then run in SAP Ariba: an optional expression of interest, the request for proposal, your bid, evaluation and negotiation (“including ICV requirements”), and award.

Document Checklist

• ☐ Commercial licence (vendor or contractor) or industrial licence (manufacturer), valid, with matching activities. ADNOC says it cannot do business with a supplier without a valid licence, so keep renewals on time: see trade licence renewal.
• ☐ Signed Supplier Declaration (downloaded during registration).
• ☐ Ownership details matching the licence, totalling 100%.
• ☐ Agency documents for overseas principals (E or R type).
• ☐ Completed IDD questionnaire.
• ☐ For pre-qualification: three completed projects with completion certificates, reference list, ISO 9001 or equivalent, HSE management documents for services.
• ☐ For tenders: a valid ICV certificate and, for longer agreements, an ICV Improvement Plan. Your VAT registration details will also be needed for invoicing.

How ICV Counts in ADNOC Tenders

ICV certificates are issued by certifying bodies authorised by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT), and ADNOC says one certificate per legal entity is valid with all participating entities. How the certificate is used is set by ADNOC’s ICV Implementation Guidelines for Suppliers, Rev. 4, effective for tenders issued from 15 March 2026. The key rules:

• Submit it with the commercial bid. The company name and licence number must match the bidding entity, and the certificate must be valid on the bid submission date.
• No certificate is allowed, but costly. A bidder can take part without a valid certificate, but its ICV certificate score is treated as zero and it ranks lower.
• Not every purchase uses ICV. Rev. 4 removed ICV from purchase orders of all values (except the local manufacturer preference) and from low value tenders; ADNOC says the low value threshold is internal and not published.
• Improvement Plan. For agreements longer than 12 months you submit an ICV Improvement Plan with yearly ICV targets. It becomes a contractual commitment: 5% of each invoice is held and released based on the ICV you actually achieve.
• Combined score. ICV Combined Score = (ICV certificate % × x%) + (average planned ICV % × y%), where x% + y% = 100%, y% is larger than x%, and both are set for each tender.
• Ta’ziz credit. Bidders established and operating in the Ta’ziz Industrial Park in Ruwais get a credit of 10% of their combined score (not in tenders that use an ICV threshold).
• Ranking matters in negotiation. ADNOC’s Rev. 4 supplier FAQ says the high ranked ICV bidders get “the first right of refusal during the negotiation”. For high value critical tenders ADNOC may set a minimum ICV score.
• Local manufacturers get preference in direct purchases of goods if they hold an industrial licence, are pre-qualified as local manufacturers, give an undertaking that the goods are made in the UAE and more than 50% of the quoted cost is for items produced in the UAE.

Worked Example: ADNOC’s Own ICV Ranking Table

Rev. 4 includes an example with five bidders. ADNOC notes the weights are an example, not a standard; working back from its figures, they equal 40% for the certificate and 60% for the plan.

Source: ADNOC ICV Implementation Guidelines for Suppliers, Rev. 4, section 5.3 (15 March 2026).

Our arithmetic for bidder D: 45 × 0.4 = 18, plus 60 × 0.6 = 36, gives 54; the Ta’ziz credit is 10% of 54 = 5.4, so the total is 59.4. Bidder D quoted the highest price but holds the top ICV rank, while the cheapest bidder, A, ranks fourth on ICV. ADNOC’s FAQ adds that award also depends on other factors at its discretion, so ICV ranking alone does not decide the winner.

How ADNOC Group Companies Relate

Rev. 4 defines the ADNOC Group as ADNOC plus every company in which ADNOC controls 50% or more of the share capital, or less than 50% but can direct its management. Each group company signs its own agreements, but you do not register with them one by one: the Supplier Hub says registration and pre-qualification are centralised for the entire group, and Rev. 4 applies to tenders across ADNOC Group companies. Once registered, the Supplier Hub is your single gateway for tenders, orders, invoices and contractor onboarding.

Fees and Fraud Warnings

ADNOC states that it “does not charge fees for supplier registration or procurement opportunities” and that any request for money in exchange for a contract or tender is fraudulent; genuine ADNOC emails only come from @adnoc.ae. Your real costs sit elsewhere: the ICV certificate fee is paid to the certifying body, and MoIAT’s service card says it can range from AED 500 to AED 10,000. Compare issuers in our guide to ICV certifying bodies and read how the score is built in the ICV certificate guide. For other government and corporate buyers, see our UAE vendor registration guide.

What is not published

• The low value tender threshold below which ICV does not apply: internal, per ADNOC’s FAQ.
• The certificate and plan weights (x% and y%): set for each tender in the tender documents.
• Whether a Dubai or free zone licence alone is enough to register: the published requirement is a licence issued by an Abu Dhabi authority; the FAQ answer for firms outside Abu Dhabi did not load for us.
• A guaranteed processing time: 48 hours, 14 days and 90 days are ADNOC’s stated response time and estimates, not deadlines.

Support: ADNOC Supplier Support Center, 8004455, or suppliermanagement@adnoc.ae (ADNOC user guide, 2023). Firms that want outside help can compare audit firms in Dubai for ICV work or business consulting services for the registration itself.