UAE’s Adnoc L&S, a unit of state-owned energy giant Adnoc, has taken delivery of the first 175,000-cbm LNG carrier from China’s Jiangnan Shipyard.
According to a statement by Adnoc L&S, Al Shelila has been delivered two months ahead of schedule.
Immediately after delivery, Al Shelila will go on hire with a “top-tier, global energy trader.”
Adnoc L&S did not provide the name of the trader.
Jiangnan previously said it aims to deliver Adnoc L&S’s LNG carrier in December this year, one month ahead of schedule.
In September, this LNG carrier completed its sea trials, some two months after its launch.
This is the first of six LNG carriers Adnoc L&S ordered during 2022 from Jiangnan.
The entire order is worth more than $1.2 billion.
Adnoc L&S said the remaining five vessels are expected to be delivered in 2025 and 2026.
These “LNG Jumbo” dual-fuel carriers feature GTT’s Mark III Flex membrane system and a partial reliquefaction system.
Adnoc is investing heavily in its LNG business and in June it took a final investment decision to build its LNG export terminal in Al Ruwais.
The LNG project will consist of two 4.8 mtpa trains with a total capacity of 9.6 mtpa, more than doubling Adnoc’s existing UAE LNG production capacity to around 15 mtpa, as the company builds its international LNG portfolio.
Adnoc currently owns a 70 percent stake in Adnoc LNG, that produces about 6 mtpa of LNG from its facilities on Das Island.
Adnoc L&S’s existing fleet of Moss-type, steam turbine LNG carriers serves its terminal on Das Island.
Earlier this year, the company also ordered eight LNG carriers from South Korean shipbuilders Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean.
These LNG carriers are expected to serve Adnoc’s second LNG terminal in Al Ruwais.