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Board members include Blackstone's Jon Gray and ex BP boss

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XRG, worth over $80 bln, to focus on low carbon energy

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ADNOC has done a string of deals in gas and chemicals

(Updates with details, background throughout)

By Yousef Saba

DUBAI, Dec 12 (Reuters) - United Arab Emirates President

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan approved a board of directors

for XRG, state oil giant ADNOC's new international investment

arm, including Blackstone's Jon Gray and former BP

boss Bernard Looney, ADNOC said on Thursday.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company announced last month it was

setting up XRG, saying it was worth over $80 billion and would

focus on lower-carbon energy, including gas, and chemicals.

Sultan Al Jaber, ADNOC's chief executive, was appointed

XRG's executive chairman.

Along with Gray and Looney, the board also included Egyptian

billionaire Nassef Sawiris, UAE Investment Minister and CEO of

Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi,

Chairman of the UAE president's office for strategic affairs

Ahmed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, and Jasem Al Zaabi, chairman of Abu

Dhabi Department of Finance and telecoms conglomerate e&.

ADNOC has done a string of deals in gas, LNG and chemicals,

which it considers pillars for its future growth alongside

renewables. UAE state-owned renewables firm Masdar, in which

ADNOC has a 24% stake, has also made several acquisitions.

ADNOC struck a deal in October to buy German chemicals maker

Covestro for $16.3 billion, including debt. Covestro last month

said its management and supervisory boards supported the

takeover offer, which will be one of the largest foreign

acquisitions by a Gulf state and ADNOC's largest.

The appointment of celebrity names from the world of finance

and energy to XRG's board signals its grand ambitions, as ADNOC

pursues its aggressive growth strategy.

Reuters reported in April that ADNOC recently considered

buying BP but the deliberations did not progress beyond

preliminary discussions.

The oil giant is also in talks for other foreign deals,

including with Austria's OMV over the merger of chemical firms

Borouge and Borealis.