ADNOC, Mitsui Ink Broad Energy Partnership
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co PJSC and Japan's Mitsui & Co Ltd have signed an agreement to explore potential joint projects across the energy value chain.
"The SCA [strategic collaboration agreement] establishes a framework for collaboration across multiple strategic areas, including crude oil market development and long-term supply, LNG sales and optimization, sulfur procurement and logistics, and shipping solutions for LNG, ammonia, sulfur and other commodities", ADNOC said in a statement.
"Through XRG [ADNOC's international investment arm], ADNOC and Mitsui will also evaluate international investment opportunities across the energy value chain, alongside potential collaboration on lower-carbon fuels and chemicals, including methanol and other projects at TA'ZIZ.
"Japan is one of ADNOC's most important strategic markets, with the company supplying around a third of the country’s crude imports".
In 2024 ADNOC penned separate agreements farming out a total of 40 percent in the Ruwais LNG project in the United Arab Emirates to Mitsui, Shell PLC, BP PLC and TotalEnergies SE. Mitsui also agreed an offtake of 600,000 metric tons a year, ADNOC said then. According to Mitsui, its investment agreement with ADNOC gives it a 10 percent stake in Ruwais LNG.
The new ADNOC-Mitsui collaboration agreement announced this week was signed as part of a visit to Japan by UAE Industry and Advanced Technology Minister and ADNOC chief executive Sultan Al Jaber, during which ADNOC also secured a contract to supply one million metric tons per annum (MMtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for 15 years to Japan's INPEX Corp.
Most of that will come from the under-construction Ruwais LNG, ADNOC said. "To date, 90 percent of the Ruwais LNG project’s 9.6 mtpa [million metric tons per annum] production capacity has been committed to international buyers across Asia and Europe through long-term arrangements", ADNOC said.
Nearly 23 percent of the project's capacity has been committed to Japanese customers, ADNOC said.
Under an earlier agreement with another Japanese company, ADNOC will supply Osaka Gas up to 800,000 metric tons per year of LNG for 15 years, mostly from Ruwais LNG, as announced by ADNOC in 2024.
Ruwais LNG, with two 4.8-MMtpa trains, will more than double the UAE's LNG production capacity, according to ADNOC. It expects the project to start commercial operations 2028.
This week ADNOC launched a unified platform for its LNG marketing and trading activities, targeting 47 MMtpa in marketed volumes by 2035.
"Designed to enhance flexibility and shipping optionality, the move supports ADNOC Gas' expanding LNG portfolio, including Ruwais LNG, and XRG's international gas and infrastructure growth, while strengthening customer access globally", ADNOC said.
The platform "will rank among the leading global LNG players, scaling up ADNOC and XRG's capacity to optimize a growing and diverse LNG portfolio and reinforce Abu Dhabi's position as a global energy trading center", ADNOC added.
To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
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