UAE’s state gas developer, ADNOC Gas has suspended its Das Island LNG expansion project.
The LNG 2.0 project planned to electrify LNG trains to reduce GHG emissions, debottleneck the trains, and extract and export ethane at Das Island.
This would have added 1.2 mill tonnes per annum of ethane, 0.9 mill tonnes of LNG and 1.1 mill tonnes of C3+ by 2028.
Das Island’s three trains have a liquefaction capacity of 6 mill tonnes per annum.
"While not proceeding with the LNG2.0 project, we will continue to invest in Das Island, particularly as it remains a key asset in our LNG portfolio," ADNOC Gas said in a statement to S&P Commodity Insights.
This project, was at the FEED stage, when stopped, and was seen as part of the UAE's effort to boost LNG production and export.
The country has invested heavily in projects, as it seeks to switch from a net gas importer to self-sufficiency by 2030.
Commodity Insights reported in 2023 that ADNOC Gas, a subsidiary of state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (now known as ADNOC), had planned to increase production capacity by 30% over five years and expand LNG capacity by 8.3% by 2028.
"We have a funnel of exciting opportunities in which we can invest, while at the same time exercising capital discipline," the statement added. "ADNOC recently [in June, 2024] announced FID for the Ruwais LNG facility, which will complement our portfolio, and we expect that plant to commence production in late 2028."
Announced in May, 2023, the Ruwais LNG project will be a two-train, 9.6 mill tonnes per annum liquefaction plant in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and is currently under construction.
ADNOC Gas had previously stated that it intended to take a majority share in Ruwais. In July, 2024, ADNOC awarded bp, Mitsui, Shell, and TotalEnergies, a 10% stake in the project, while ADNOC retained the 60% majority stake.
As of July, ADNOC had signed 70% of the required offtake agreements for Ruwais LNG, with more to be announced, ADNOC's executive vice president for downstream asset management, Fatema al-Nuaimi, told Commodity Insights.
These include heads of agreements with Shell and Mitsui for 1 mill tonnes per annum and 0.6 mill tonnes, respectively. Other agreements were signed with Germany's EnBW and SEFE and China's ENN.
Combined, the announced contracts totalled 4.2 mill tonnes per annum or bout 44% of the project's capacity, implying contracts worth 2.5 mill tonnes were still needed, according to Commodity Insights analysis.
"This 70% figure exceeds the total volumes of the project's six announced supply contracts to date as of August, 2024, implying that the company has signed another 1.7 mill tonnes of long-term agreements that have not been publicly announced," Commodity Insights’ analysis showed in August.
