ADNOC secures fourth sales and purchase deal for Ruwais LNG

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has signed a liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales and purchase agreement (SPA) with Japan’s Osaka Gas.

Under the 15-year SPA agreement, the UAE player is set to deliver up to 0.8 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) from its lower-carbon Ruwais LNG project to Osaka Gas. Cargoes will be shipped to the destination ports of Osaka Gas and its Singapore-based subsidiary, Osaka Gas Energy Supply and Trading (OGEST). 

Keiji Takemori, Osaka Gas Executive Vice President, said: “ADNOC has been a reliable LNG supplier to Japan for nearly half a century. This new contract, with such a trusted LNG provider, will help ensure a stable energy supply for our customers.”  

This converts a heads of the agreement from August 2024 into a definitive agreement and marks the first long-term LNG sales agreement between the two players.

Rashid Khalfan Al Mazrouei, ADNOC’s  Senior Vice President of Marketing, noted: “This agreement with Osaka Gas reinforces our long-standing energy partnership with Japan and supports our strategy to expand our global LNG footprint. Through our world-class Ruwais LNG project, ADNOC will continue to provide more lower-carbon gas to meet growing global demand, fuel industries and power homes.”

The LNG will be primarily sourced from the Ruwais LNG project, which is under development in Al Ruwais Industrial City, Abu Dhabi. Once the project is operational in 2028, ADNOC Gas is set to acquire its parent company’s stake in the project, which is expected to more than double its gas output.

According to ADNOC, Ruwais will be the first LNG export facility in the Middle East and Africa region to operate on clean power, making it one of the lowest carbon intensity LNG plants in the world. Artificial intelligence and the latest technologies will be employed to boost safety and efficiency and minimize emissions.

Thanks to four long-term agreements with international buyers across Asia and Europe, 8 out of the project’s 9.6 mtpa production capacity has been booked. In addition to Osaka Gas, deals were previously inked with Malaysia’s Petronas and two German players, SEFE and EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg.

ADNOC recently signed a supply deal with another Japanese player, JERA, for gas from the UAE firm’s Das Island liquefaction facility, boasting a 6-mtpa production capacity.