Adnoc invites India to pick up stake in Ruwais LNG terminal: report

The state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (Adnoc) has invited India, the world’s third largest energy consumer, to pick up a stake in an upcoming liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Ruwais in Abu Dhabi, Mint reported, citing two unidentified people aware of the discussions.

The deal, if concluded, would be India’s first equity stake in an overseas LNG terminal. The country imports around 55% of its gas requirement to meet growing demand from sectors such as fertilizer and power.

India imported 23.5 million metric tons per annum (mmtpa) LNG in the past fiscal, a 17.5% year-on-year jump, according to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell.

“We don’t comment on market speculation,” an Adnoc spokesperson said in response to an emailed query from Press Insider seeking confirmation.

“ADNOC’s lower-carbon Ruwais LNG project continues to progress toward the final investment decision, expected this year. When completed, the project, which consists of two 4.8 mmtpa LNG liquefaction trains with a total capacity of 9.6 mmtpa, will more than double ADNOC’s LNG production capacity to around 15mmtpa,” the spokesperson said.

“The plant is set to be the first LNG export facility in the Middle East and Africa region to run on clean power and will leverage the latest technologies and AI tools to minimize emissions and drive efficiency,” the spokesperson added.

Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOC) is weighing a long-term deal to buy 1 mmtpa of clean fuel from Adnoc, the Mint report said, adding that the oil marketer had signed a deal with Adnoc to supply 1.2 mmtpa of LNG from 2026. The proposed deal is part of India’s efforts to fortify its imports of LNG.

Adnoc has already signed agreements with SEFE Marketing and Trading Singapore Pte Ltd, an arm of Germany’s SEFE Securing Energy for Europe GmbH; Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (EnBW), and China’s ENN Natural Gas.