UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc) is looking to double its LNG production capacity as part of a $127 billion capital spending plan for 2022-2026.
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan chaired the company’s annual board meeting in Dubai on Wednesday. Adnoc’s board approved capital spending of 466 billion dirhams ($127 billion) for 2022-2026, a rise from $122 billion for 2021-25.
The state-owned firm said national reserves rose by 4 billion stock tank barrels of oil and 16 trillion standard cubic feet of natural gas.
These additional reserves increase the UAE’s hydrocarbon reserves base to 111 billion stb of oil and 289 tscf of natural gas, reinforcing the country’s position in global rankings as the holder of the sixth-largest oil reserves and the seventh-largest gas reserves, it said.
Boosting LNG capacity to 12 mtpa
As part of the five-year business plan and capital expenditure for 2022-2026, Adnoc plans to expand its upstream production capacity and downstream portfolio as well as its low carbon fuels business and clean energy ambitions.
Adnoc said its board endorsed the company’s plans to evaluate doubling its LNG production capacity from 6 to 12 million tons per annum.
“The potential expansion of Adnoc’s LNG production capacity is underpinned by the growth in its natural gas position, with new developments planned to add 3 billion standard cubic feet per day (scfd) and more to come from associated gas as it expands its crude oil production capacity,” it said.
Adnoc did not provide any additional information regarding the planned LNG production capacity increase.
Das Island facility
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.
Besides Adnoc, other shareholders include Mitsui & Co (15%), BP (10%), and TotalEnergies (5%).
Prior to 2019, about 90 percent of Das Island volumes landed in Japan.
However, since then the LNG producer has signed several deals and now supplies the fuel to a range of clients, including countries from across Southern and Southeast Asia.
The firm has last year signed deals with Vitol and TotalEnergies, continuing the transition to a multi-customer strategy.
In addition, several reports previously suggested that Adnoc is also planning to build a large LNG export facility at Fujairah, located on the Gulf of Oman.