Ruwais LNG Terminal

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Ruwais LNG Terminal is a proposed LNG export terminal in Al Ruwais Industrial City, Abu Dhabi.

Location

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Project details

• Operator:
• Owner: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC)
• Parent company: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company
• Location: Al Ruwais (Al Ruwais Industrial City), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• Coordinates: 24.13523, 52.65226
• Capacity: 9.6 mtpa
  • Train 1: 4.8 mtpa
  • Train 2: 4.8 mtpa
• Status: Proposed
• Type: Export
• Start year: 2028
• Cost: US$ 7 billion
• Financing:
• FID status: FID (2024)
• Associated infrastructure: Dolphin gas pipeline

Background

This LNG terminal is a later version of the revived Fujairah export LNG Terminal. In May 2023, ADNOC announced that it would move the Fujairah terminal project to Al Ruwais Industrial City.

In a statement issued by ADNOC in 2023, the company explained that because of the proximity of Al Ruwais to existing ADNOC's operations, infrastructure, and future growth projects, the terminal would be relocated from Fujairah to Al Ruwais Industrial City.

The proposed Ruwais LNG Terminal is a 9.6 mtpa facility with two 4.8 mtpa LNG liquefaction trains. The project has been designed so that the LNG processing facilities use electric power and run on both nuclear and renewable energy. The use of renewable energy would make it the "first LNG export facility in the Middle East and North Africa region to run on clean power."

Through the new project, ADNOC plans to more than double its current LNG production capacity, to meet growing global gas demands.

In November 2023, ADNOC said that it was advancing towards a final investment decision (FID) for the project, but it did not provide a specific timeline. The gas and LNG unit of ADNOC, Adnoc Gas, also recently awarded Baker Hughes a contract for the project.

In 2024, ADNOC "issued a Limited Notice to Proceed (LNTP) for early engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) activities to a joint venture led by Technip Energies and including JGC Corp and National Petroleum Construction Co PJSC" for the Ruwais LNG project. The company also announced that FID for the project was to be expected sometime in 2024, most likely June. Technip and JGC Corp were instructed to proceed with early construction activities, since ADNOC aims to deliver its first LNG cargoes from the Ruwais terminal in early to mid-2028.

After speculation of its participation in the Ruwais LNG Terminal, Mitsui & Co issued a statement in April 2024 saying that "nothing had been decided on a liquified natural gas (LNG) project in the United Arab Emirates." The Nikkei, the newspaper that reported on Mitsui's participation, also claimed that ADNOC was going to have a stake of around 60% in the project and Mitsui would have 10%, with companies like Shell, BP, and TotalEnergies also being expected to invest.

In May 2024, ADNOC signed a 15-year Heads of Agreement with Energie Baden-Württemberg for the delivery of 0.6 million mtpa of LNG. This agreement, contingent upon FID for the Ruwais terminal, is the third long-term supply agreement for the Ruwais project, after agreements with Chinese ENN and SEFE. Shortly after, in June 2024, ADNOC invited India to take a stake in the Ruwais terminal. In a related development that comes from a growing relationship between India and the UAE, Indian Oil Corp also announced plans to buy one million metric tons per year of LNG from ADNOC.

In June 2024, ADNOC announced that FID had been taken for the Al Ruwais Terminal. The company also awarded a US$5.5 billion EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) contract for the project. The contract was awarded to the joint venture led by Technip Energies, with partners JGC Corporation and NMDC Energy.