Austrian energy firm OMV is planning to buy one liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo from UAE’s Adnoc for the winter season 2023/2024 as part of a new deal signed on Thursday.
OMV and Adnoc signed a memorandum of understanding to explore new partnership in deliveries for LNG, according to a statement by the Austrian firm.
With this memorandum, OMV and Adnoc “intend to explore a partnership in LNG supply to support energy supply security of Austria with the aim of arranging the purchase of one LNG cargo for the winter season 2023/2024,” the statement said.
OMV did not provide any additional information regarding the cargo.
“We take an important step in further intensifying our strong partnership between OMV and Adnoc,” Alfred Stern, CEO of OMV said in the statement.
“At the same time, this agreement is another building block in our efforts to strengthen Austria’s energy supply by diversifying gas sources in our portfolio,” Stern said.
Earlier this year, OMV booked additional gas pipeline capacity from October 1 to supply Austria from Germany and Italy after Russia’s Gazprom reduced pipeline gas supplies to Austria.
The firm secured 40 TWh of gas capacity for the gas year which starts on October 1, 2022 and ends September 30, 2023, corresponding to almost half of Austria’s annual demand.
OMV produces almost 30 TWh of gas in Norway and has capacity rights at the Dutch Gate LNG terminal in Rotterdam of just over 30 TWh.
Back in 2017, OMV signed a five-year deal with Qatargas to buy about 1.1 million tons of LNG starting in 2019 and for delivery to Gate.
Prior to this deal with OMV, Adnoc signed a supply deal with Germany’s RWE on the first commercial LNG delivery to the Brunsbuettel FSRU-based import terminal. The two firms also signed a memorandum of understanding for further LNG deliveries.
Adnoc owns a 70 percent stake in Adnoc LNG, that currently produces about 6 mtpa of LNG from its facilities on Das Island.
Besides this terminal, Adnoc is also working on the second LNG export plant in Fujairah and has ordered new LNG carriers in China.
According to Adnoc, the Fujairah LNG terminal would have two 4.8 mtpa LNG trains, boosting the company’s LNG production capacity by 9.6 Mtpa, as it looks to respond to the growing global demand for natural gas.