DUBAI (Reuters) – Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said on Thursday it had signed a 15-year sales and purchase agreement to supply Japan’s Osaka Gas with liquefied natural gas from its Ruwais project.
The deal to supply up to 0.8 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) is the fourth sales agreement signed for the Ruwais LNG project, in which energy majors Shell, BP, TotalEnergies and Japan’s Mitsui each have a 10% stake.
The LNG will be primarily sourced from the Ruwais LNG project, due for completion in 2028, ADNOC said in a statement.
State-owned ADNOC has big ambitions to develop its LNG and natural gas sectors, which, along with renewable energy and petrochemicals, it considers as pillars for future growth.
Its LNG push has increased competition with regional rivals Qatar – one of the world’s top LNG exporters – and Saudi Arabia, which has similar ambitions.
The latest agreement will see LNG cargoes shipped to Osaka Gas and its Singapore subsidiary, Osaka Gas Energy Supply and Trading, ADNOC said.
“ADNOC has been a reliable LNG supplier to Japan for nearly half a century,” Osaka Gas Executive Vice President Keiji Takemori said in the same statement.
“This new contract, with such a trusted LNG provider, will help ensure a stable energy supply for our customers.”
Ruwais is expected to have a capacity of 9.6 mtpa, more than doubling ADNOC’s capacity to 15 mtpa. Up to 8 mtpa from Ruwais has already been committed to Asian and European buyers, ADNOC said.
Subsidiary ADNOC Gas said in November it expects to buy a 60% stake in the Ruwais LNG project from the parent company in the second half of 2028 at cost, estimated at $5 billion.
ADNOC last week raised $2.84 billion from a sale of ADNOC Gas shares that raised the unit’s free float to 9%.
(Reporting by Yousef Saba; Editing by Rachna Uppal)
