UAE’s Adnoc has signed a heads of agreement with Germany’s EnBW to supply the latter with liquefied natural gas from its planned LNG terminal in Al Ruwais.
Under the deal, EnBW will buy 0.6 million metric tons per annum of LNG for a period of 15 years, according to Adnoc.
The deliveries, which will be primarily sourced from the Ruwais LNG plant, are expected to start in 2028, upon commencement of the facility’s commercial operations.
Adnoc said the LNG agreement with EnBW is contingent upon a final investment decision (FID) on the Ruwais LNG project, including regulatory approvals, and the negotiation of a definitive sale and purchase agreement between the two companies.
Third Ruwais LNG deal
This is the third long-term LNG supply agreement from the Ruwais LNG project, following the 15-year agreement with Germany’s SEFE singed in March this year and the 15-year agreement with China’s ENN Natural Gas signed in December 2023.
The deals with SEFE and ENN are each for 1 mtpa, meaning that Adnoc now signed deals for a total of 2.6 mtpa.
Adnoc previously said it expects to take a final decision on the project later this year, while early civil works at the site have already started.
When completed, the project, which consists of two 4.8 mtpa LNG liquefaction trains with a total capacity of 9.6 mtpa, will more than double Adnoc’s LNG production capacity.
Adnoc currently owns a 70 percent stake in Adnoc LNG, that currently produces about 6 mtpa of LNG from its facilities on Das Island.
Last year, Adnoc announced it will build its second LNG terminal in Al Ruwais. The firm previously planned to construct the facility in Fujairah.
Adnoc has also issued a limited notice to proceed for early engineering, procurement, and construction activities to a joint venture led by France’s Technip Energies for its planned LNG terminal in Al Ruwais.
When completed, the project, which consists of two 4.8 mtpa LNG liquefaction trains with a total capacity of 9.6 mtpa, will more than double Adnoc’s LNG production capacity to around 15 mtpa.
Fatema Al Nuaimi, Adnoc executive VP, downstream business management, said the Ruwais LNG project “continues to gain momentum, reinforcing Adnoc’s position as a reliable global natural gas provider.”
“This new agreement builds on the UAE-Germany Energy Security and Industry Accelerator and will support Germany as it strives to diversify its energy sources and enhance its energy security,” she said.
First LNG contract in Middle East
Peter Heydecker, EnBW’s board member for sustainable generation infrastructure, said this agreement with Adnoc is EnBW’s first LNG contract in the Middle East.
“In doing so, we are taking the next step in terms of diversifying our procurement portfolio and establishing our own LNG value chain. We can also use the experience gained here for our medium-term goal of establishing an import structure for green gases, since the two business fields are very similar,” he said.
In March last year, the energy firm booked more long-term capacity at Hanseatic Energy Hub’s Stade LNG import terminal in Germany.
EnBW booked 6 bcm of capacity at the facility which is scheduled to go online in 2027.
HEH recently took a final investment decision to build its Stade LNG import terminal near Hamburg worth about 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion).
This is Germany’s first onshore LNG terminal.