A unit of UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc) has placed an order for up to four large LNG carriers at China’s Jiangnan Shipyard, boosting the total to six vessels, according to shipbuilding sources.
Adnoc Logistics & Services has exercised an option for two 175,000-cbm vessels as part of the contract signed earlier this year, three shipbuilding sources told LNG Prime on Monday.
In addition to this deal, the sources said that Jiangnan and Adnoc Logistics & Services have signed another contract which includes one firm vessel and one option.
This puts the total to five firm LNG vessels and one optional ship with a total price tag of more than $1.2 billion.
Adnoc Logistics & Services would pay around $200 million per ship for the first four LNG carriers, two sources said. The price tag for the 1+1 order could reach above $210 million per vessel, according to one source.
Adnoc Logistics & Services is expected to start taking deliveries of the three new LNG carriers in the second half of 2025.
Jiangnan previously said the 175,000-cbm “LNG Jumbo” dual-fuel carriers feature GTT’s Mark III Flex membrane system and a partial reliquefaction system.
The initial contract with Adnoc marked the shipbuilder’s first order for large LNG carriers. It was also China’s first order in the field of large LNG carriers for the international market, Jiangnan said.
Adnoc’s LNG expansion plans
Adnoc is heavily investing in LNG and plans to substantially boost its liquefaction capacity.
The state-owned firm recently appointed Houston-based McDermott as the design contractor for its planned LNG export plant in Fujairah.
The Fujairah LNG terminal will 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.
Adnoc LNG, a joint venture in which the UAE giant has a 70 percent stake, currently produces about 6 mtpa of LNG from its facilities on Das Island off the coast of Abu Dhabi.