LNG

Adnoc Gas, the natural gas and LNG producer in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, has signed a 10-year supply agreement with GAIL India, the Indian pipeline gas and city-gas player whose facilities include the Dabhol LNG import terminal south of Mumbai.

Under terms of the deal, Adnoc Gas said it would supply GAIL with 500,000 tonnes per annum of LNG.

The latest Adnoc Gas agreement for LNG volumes follows similar deals signed with Japan Petroleum Exploration, France’s TotalEnergies, Indian Oil Corp. and PetroChina International.

Adnoc Gas, which was spun-off in March 2023 from Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) to become a separate company, is estimated to have the seventh-largest gas reserves globally.

Step forward

“This long-term LNG supply agreement with GAIL India marks a significant step forward in our commitment to continue providing reliable and sustainable energy solutions to our partners and customers around the world,” said Ahmed Mohamed Alebri, Chief Executive of Adnoc Gas.

“India continues to be a key market for Adnoc Gas and this latest supply agreement underscores our ongoing dedication to fostering long-term partnerships,” added Alebri.

The main Adnoc Gas LNG operation is the the Das Island plant in Abu Dhabi with three liquefaction Trains and 6 MTPA of output.

The Das Island facility has operated since 1977 and was the first export plant established in the Arabian Gulf.

“Adnoc Gas continues to leverage opportunities arising from ADNOC’s integrated gas masterplan, which links every part of the gas value chain in the UAE,” said the company.

The ADNOC Group is leading the developments for the UAE that includes the new low-carbon Ruwais LNG export project currently under development in Al Ruwais Industrial City in Abu Dhabi.

Al Ruwais project

When completed, Al Ruwais will have two liquefaction Trains each with capacity of 4.8 MTPA for a total of 9.6 MTPA.

GAIL is a leading natural gas company in West Asia with a presence in India’s gas trading, transmission, city-gas and other sectors including petrochemicals.

The New Delhi-based company currently has a 75 percent share of the gas transmission network.

Its pipeline assets are 14,490 kilometres (9,000 miles) in length and GAIL makes about 50 percent of the country’s domestic natural gas sales.

GAIL has six subsidiaries including GAIL Global USA Inc., which looks after its Cove Point LNG interests in the state of Maryland.

The company also runs an LNG trading business based in Singapore.

Other assets include a majority stake in Konkan LNG, the ownership company of India's Dabhol LNG import terminal, located in the West Coast Indian state of Maharashtra, south of Mumbai, and with 5 MTPA of capacity.

GAIL (India) Ltd, the shareholder in Petronet LNG and the operator of the Dabhol import terminal in the West Coast state of Maharashtra, signed a long-term supply deal with global commodities firm Vitol.

Svanehøj France, the tank control systems business, has been awarded contracts to update safety systems at the established Dabhol LNG import terminal on the West Coast of India and at the French Fos Cavaou LNG facility located east of Marseilles.

Svanehøj's tanks business has a long and distinguished track record since it was established at the French Channel port of Calais in 1961 under the banner of the UK engineering company Whessoe plc. 

At the time the company equipped its first gas carriers in the 1970s and its first LNG storage tank in 1983. 

It was also the first company to provide a level, temperature, and density (LTD) gauge for floating storage and it was part of Finland’s Wärtsilä from 2006 until it was acquired by Denmark’s Svanehøj in 2022.

Svanehøj France now develops technologies that enhance the safety of LNG, liquefied petroleum gas and cryogenic and refrigerated storageon sea and land.

Safety and control

“Svanehøj's instrumentation and software solutions are installed to ensure that all hazardous aspects related to liquified gas storage are known and controllable,” the company said.

“The systems proactively measure possible development or creation of stratification by monitoring the tanks. The product range includes tank level and density gauges, temperature transmitters, and control systems that operate accurately under cryogenic conditions,” the company added.

Svanehøj France noted that as time progresses, ageing machinery becomes obsolete, prompting the recognition of the importance of upgrading safety instrumentation. 

In response, the Dabhol terminal owned by the Konkan LNG subsidiary of GAIL India and the Fos Cavaou terminal operated by France’s Elengy, a unit of GRTgaz within the utility and energy group Engie, partnered with Svanehøj France to renew the safety instrumentation for a combined three LNG tanks.

“We are reconnecting with liquefied gas terminals worldwide and have learnt that some could be in better shape,” said Simon Dufour, an executive at Svanehøj France.

“Some only need spare parts, but some need new instrumentation installed. Without new instrumentation, it can result in dangerous situations and end up shutting downoperations,” Dufour explained.

Contract scopes

The company said that the Fos Cavaou LNG terminal has already successfully retrofitted one tank with a new densitometer, replacing previous systems and improving functionality and reliability. 

“Encouraged by this accomplishment and the cooperation with Svanehøj, Fos Cavaou plans to simultaneously replace the densitometers in the remaining two tanks with delivery of instrumentation in October,” said Svanehøj France.

Konkan LNG in India has embarked on a comprehensive plan to upgrade the Dabhol terminal with Svanehøj's valuable experience in safety instrumentation for LNG storage being leveraged. 

“The project encompasses replacing various components while retaining the existing temperature probes, guaranteeing qualitative safety measures,” Dufour said.

“As part of the upgrade, we will install three advanced servo-driven tank gauging systems, the LTs, to improve reliability and efficiency. An LTD tank gauging system and two data acquisition systems will also be delivered,” he added.

Indian liquefied natural gas imports jumped by 10 percent as lower prices helped encourage buyers while domestic gas output also increased along with the nation’s gas demand.

Indian liquefied natural gas imports jumped by 11 percent in February to continue the resurgence in the nation’s natural gas use despite LNG cargo prices being 37 percent higher than last year.

Gas Authority of India (GAIL), the LNG importer and natural gas pipeline grid and city-gas operator, reported a decline in net profits even as total revenues increased for the fiscal third quarter and the year to date.

Petronet LNG, the owner of the largest Indian import terminal at Dahej north of Mumbai, reported record revenues and profits amid declining cargo volumes in 2022 as energy prices jumped while domestic and industrial natural gas demand was variable.

Indian liquefied natural gas imports continued their decline in 2022 because of high prices and competition from the European market, while domestic natural gas output rose amid a fall in the nation’s gas consumption.

Indian liquefied natural gas imports suffered another large monthly fall by more than 16 percent because of the slowing economy and the higher prices needed to attract additional shipments from the higher-priced Atlantic Basin.

Indian imports of liquefied natural gas dropped for a ninth straight month, though the rate of decline slowed to 3.5 percent even as LNG prices increased while the fall in cargo deliveries was offset by another rise in domestic gas output.