China’s Jiangnan Shipyard has launched the third 175,000-cbm LNG carrier which is being built for a unit of UAE’s Adnoc.
According to CSSC’s Jiangnan, the launching ceremony for the LNG carrier Al Reef took place on January 20.
The LNG carrier is the third in a series of six vessels Adnoc L&S ordered during 2022 from Jiangnan, and they will all be delivered by the end of 2026.
The entire order is worth more than $1.2 billion.
In November 2024, Adnoc L&S took delivery of the first 175,000-cbm LNG carrier in this batch.
Al Shelila was delivered two months ahead of schedule, and it serves a charter dal with a “top-tier, global energy trader”, according to Adnoc L&S.
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 made the final investment decision in June 2024 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.
Besides these vessels in China, the company also selected last year two South Korean shipbuilders to build six LNG carriers following a tender.
These LNG carriers are expected to serve Adnoc’s second LNG terminal in Al Ruwais.