DUBAI - Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has invited investment banks to pitch for roles in the initial public offering (IPO) of its gas business next year, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Bankers familiar with the matter said a request was sent to a select number of banks last week for proposals to act as joint global coordinators and bookrunners in the IPO, to join Goldman Sachs as part of a planned syndicate.

ADNOC declined to comment.

ADNOC is combining its gas processing arm and its liquefied natural gas (LNG) subsidiary into a single listed entity, and has engaged Goldman Sachs on the deal, two other sources told Reuters last month.

ADNOC said on Nov. 28 the consolidation of the two entities would create one of the world's largest gas processing companies with a processing capacity of around 10 billion standard cubic feet per day.

ADNOC is sharpening its focus on the gas market as Europe seeks to replace all Russian energy imports as early as mid-2024 after supply cuts since Western sanctions were imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

ADNOC plans to offer investors a minority stake in the new company through an IPO on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange next year.

The Gulf is experiencing an IPO boom as the governments of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Saudi Arabia push state-led listing programmes, riding high on oil prices and a comparative dearth of such offerings in other markets.

Gulf issuers have raised $18.7 billion through such listings this year, accounting for 54% of total IPO proceeds from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Refinitiv data shows.

(Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh; editing by Mark Potter)