R&D tax credits for oil & gas.
From the ADNOC ecosystem to independent operators and service companies, the UAE’s energy sector is investing heavily in decarbonisation, recovery and the digital oilfield. Much of that work qualifies for the R&D Tax Credit — the discipline is proving precisely which part.
How qualifying R&D shows up in oil & gas.
The UAE regime tests every project against the five OECD Frascati criteria. Here is what each looks like on a line, in a cell, or in a new process.
Novel
A recovery, capture or process method not already available in the field.
Creative
Original engineering hypotheses, not the routine application of standards.
Uncertain
Whether it performs at reservoir or plant scale is genuinely unknown.
Systematic
Planned trials, modelling and pilots, properly documented.
Transferable
Results reproducible across wells, units or facilities.
The kind of work that qualifies.
Illustrative projects across upstream, downstream and the energy transition. Eligibility is always confirmed project by project.
Carbon capture (CCUS) pilot
Capturing flue-gas CO₂ at a downstream facility where capture rate, solvent performance or integration is not yet proven at scale.
Low-carbon hydrogen
Developing or adapting electrolysis and process technology to produce blue or green hydrogen under real operating constraints.
Enhanced oil recovery
New injection, chemical or thermal techniques for reservoir conditions where recovery outcomes cannot be predicted from theory.
Predictive process control
A digital twin or ML control system managing a live process to a target that existing control methods cannot reliably hold.
Corrosion & materials engineering
Alloys, coatings or composites engineered to survive sour service, high pressure or high temperature beyond current limits.
Methane detection & abatement
Sensing and abatement methods achieving detection thresholds or reductions that off-the-shelf systems do not reach.
Genuine R&D, not routine engineering.
The value we add is drawing this line correctly — claiming what qualifies, and defending it, while leaving out what does not.
- Developing or adapting process technology where performance at scale is uncertain.
- Prototyping and piloting capture, recovery or hydrogen methods with unknown outcomes.
- Engineering materials or control systems beyond established performance limits.
- Systematic experimentation to resolve a genuine technological uncertainty.
- Routine operations, maintenance and inspection.
- Applying established engineering standards to a known design.
- Commissioning proven, off-the-shelf equipment to specification.
- Cost, commercial or feasibility studies with no technical uncertainty.
£50M+
claimed across 450+ UK companies with a 100% audit success record — including complex, engineering-heavy claims in energy and industrials. The same chartered method now applies to the UAE.
“RDvault is a user-friendly solution that saved us countless hours on documentation and compliance.”
A UAE energy case study will feature here as claims complete under the new regime.
Does the ADNOC supply chain qualify?
Service companies, EPC contractors and technology suppliers can all qualify for their own R&D — the question is who bore the technical risk and cost of the uncertain work, not who operates the asset. We help establish that clearly.
We buy in most of our technology. Can we still claim?
Often, yes — provided your team did genuine development to adapt, integrate or extend that technology to resolve an uncertainty. Simply purchasing and installing proven kit to specification does not qualify.
Is decarbonisation and CCUS work eligible?
Frequently. Capture, utilisation, storage and hydrogen projects tend to involve real technological uncertainty at pilot and scale-up stage, which is exactly what the criteria reward. Each project is assessed individually.
What evidence will we need?
Contemporaneous records: the technical uncertainty, the work done to resolve it, and project-level cost and staff-time allocation. We build this as the work happens so the claim stands up to scrutiny — and pre-approval is mandatory before claiming.
Making things here? Let’s find what qualifies.
We assess your projects against the five criteria, handle pre-approval, and build the evidence — before a single figure is claimed.
