LNG

The US-Iran memorandum has been signed by both presidents, ahead of Friday's scheduled ceremony, and commits Iran to clearing Hormuz of mines within 30 days. Yet ADNOC's carriers are holding back: four sit dark off Khor Fakkan, home from earlier delivery runs, even as Qatar's Disha ran the strait in the open just as the deal broke.

ADNOC Gas has lowered LNG production at its 6 mtpa Das Island plant and is now working on a “transaction-by-transaction basis to fulfil its contractual LNG commitments, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

ADNOC Gas has announced it will take FID on Phase 2 and 3 of its Rich Gas Development (RGD) project in the first quarter of 2026, linking the move to a planned 30% rise in gas processing capacity by 2029 to underpin rising LNG exports.

US company Perma-Pipe International Holdings has opened its largest production facility outside North America in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to tap into the increasing Middle East production expansion in the LNG, oil and pipeline natural gas sectors.

Perma-Pipe, based in Spring, Texas, said the official opening of the facility was attended by President and Chief Executive David Mansfield and Chairman Jerry Walker as well as dignitaries from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

While Qatar is embarking on a major natural gas and LNG expansion, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are also expanding their natural gas sectors with plans for increased production and subsequent equipment needs.

The US company, which is listed on the Nasdaq global exchange, said the Abu Dhabi factory is on a six hectare site and is fully equipped with technologies to provide the latest environmentally-friendly products for pipelines, gas-gathering and pipe insulation .

“We have every reason to believe that the demand for clean energy, such as LNG and hydrogen, will continue to grow in the years to come,” said CEO Mansfield.

“This new development is not specific to the UAE only. It is an export hub to serve projects all over the world. We now have a factory that is unique with its wide product offerings and with the capacity to respond to the growing demand,” added Mansfield.

Pre-insulated pipes

Perma-Pipe is leader in pre-insulated piping and leak detection systems for oil and gas gathering, district heating and cooling and other applications.

The new facility will offer fabrication and fusion bonded epoxy coating capabilities, and the XTRU-THERM® and PolyTherm® brands of insulation systems and other jacketed and reinforced products.

In total, Perma-Pipe has operations at 14 locations in six countries.

“This new production site opens up many perspectives for Perma-Pipe, the world leader in pre-engineered pre-insulated piping systems,” said Saleh Sagr, Senior Vice President for Perma-Pipe’s Middle East and North Africa region.

“We aim to meet the growing regional demand and also have a logistical position to better serve the oil and gas industry in the UAE with its large capacity and product quality,” Sagr added.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has invited investment banks to pitch for roles in the initial public offering (IPO) of its natural gas business during the first half of 2023.

Several investment banks have been asked for proposals to act as joint global coordinators and bookrunners in the IPO to join New York-based Goldman Sachs as part of a planned banking syndicate, according to bankers familiar with the plans.

Adnoc is combining its gas-processing subsidiary with its main gas export unit, Adnoc LNG, into a single listed entity and has engaged Goldman Sachs as the principal bank to oversee the various transactions.

Adnoc plans to offer investors a minority stake in the new company through an IPO on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange in 2023.

Adnoc LNG was the first production company in the Arabian Gulf and processes feed gas at Das Island, located 160 kilometres (100 miles) off the coast of Abu Dhabi.

The LNG company also supplies one billion standard cubic feet of gas per day to the United Arab Emirates national grid, contributing to Adnoc’s commitment towards gas self-sufficiency in the UAE.

Current stakes

Adnoc LNG is majority owned by the Abu Dhabi-based firm with a 70 percent share of the company. The other shareholders are Japan’s Mitsui & Co with 15 percent, UK major BP with 10 percent and TotalEnergies with 5 percent.

Adnoc said late last month that the consolidation of the two entities would create one of the world’s largest gas-processing companies with a processing capacity of around 10 billion standard cubic feet per day.

Analysts note that Adnoc in the UAE and other nations in the region such as Qatar are overhauling their corporate capabilities to replace all Russian energy imports as early as mid-2024 as Western sanctions were imposed over the Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The UAE is comprised of seven emirates and the leading energy emirate is Abu Dhabi, which also has the Ghasha mega-project, the world’s largest offshore sour-gas development. 

The emirates, outside of Abu Dhabi, have varying degrees of more limited energy resources in Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al-Quwain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah,

The multi-billion-dollar Ghasha project will play a vital role in meeting the UAE’s gas self-sufficiency objectives.

Adnoc says that the Ghasha mega-project draws on its long-standing sour-gas expertise, including its Shah onshore ultra-sour gas field project, its pioneering work in the creation of artificial islands and the wide and deep sour-gas capabilities of its concession partners.

Adnoc is also currently unlocking potential unconventional gas resources as part of its integrated gas strategy and since late 2019 it has announced the discovery of 160 trillion standard cubic feet of recoverable unconventional gas.

Sept 26 (LNGJ) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates over unspecified future energy supplies which could involve receiving the odd cargo from the emirate of Abu Dhabi, which ships one of two cargoes a week from its Das Island plant. Scholz signed an accord after talks with the UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a three-day tour of the Gulf. “I welcome the signing of the joint declaration on energy security,” said Scholz after the talks.

Italian natural gas network and LNG terminal operator Snam, Europe's first company to test the injection of a blend of hydrogen and natural gas into its grid, has signed a cooperation accord with LNG producer Abu Dhabi on studying the potential of green gases.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, the oil, natural gas and LNG producer, has signed a landmark midstream infrastructure partnership with two of America’s largest equity funds, BlackRock and Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts (KKR), for an initial upfront payment to Adnoc of $4 billion.

The deals were signed in Abu Dhabi by Ahmed Al Jaber, the United Arab Emirates Minister of State and Adnoc Group Chief Executive and Laurence D. Fink, BlackRock Chairman and CEO and Henry Kravis, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of KKR.

The UAE is the oldest LNG producer in the Middle East from its Das Island plant offshore Abu Dhabi consisting of three Trains with capacity of around 5.5 million tonnes of LNG per annum.

Adnoc recently confirmed new discoveries of gas in place totaling 15 trillion cubic feet and intends to continue LNG production for 40 more years and to increase its discovered resources and oil and gas infrastructure development.

It is also embarking on multiple sour gas projects and others onshore and offshore.

As part of the Adnoc transaction with the US funds, a newly formed entity called Adnoc Oil Pipelines will lease Adnoc’s interest in 18 pipelines, transporting stabilized crude oil and condensate across Adnoc’s offshore and onshore upstream concessions for a 23-year period.

“The entity will, in turn, receive a tariff payable by Adnoc, for its share of volume of crude and condensate that flows through the pipelines, backed by minimum volume commitments,” they explained.

Funds managed by BlackRock and KKR will form a consortium to collectively hold a 40 percent interest in the entity, while Adnoc will hold the remaining 60 percent majority stake.

Sovereignty over the pipelines and management of pipeline operations remain with the UAE company.

“The transaction will result in upfront proceeds of approximately $4 billion to Adnoc and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019, subject to customary closing conditions and all regulatory approvals,” said Adnoc and the two equity funds.

“BlackRock and KKR’s long-term investment underlines the attractiveness of Abu Dhabi and the UAE as a rapidly emerging investment destination for international capital,” they said.

“This transaction marks the first time that leading, global institutional investors have deployed capital into key midstream infrastructure assets of a national oil company in the Middle East,” they added.

In conjunction with this transaction, Adnoc said it was laying the groundwork for additional infrastructure-related investment opportunities with institutional investors.

Adnoc’s 60 percent equity stake in Adnoc Oil Pipelines will be held through Adnoc Infrastructure, a subsidiary.

“The level and sophistication of the investors that we are attracting as financial partners to invest, alongside Adnoc, in these select pipeline assets is a clear reflection of the UAE’s stable, attractive and reliable investment environment,” said Adnoc’s Al Jaber.

Commenting on the transaction, KKR’s Kravis said it could be a catalyst for further foreign investment and broader economic transformation in the UAE.

“Having long had a presence in the region, we appreciate the high quality of Adnoc as a partner and Abu Dhabi’s investor-friendly environment to enable our first direct investment in the region. With this transaction as a precedent, we believe there is substantial potential to do even more,” stated Kravis.

This transaction follows several other recent value creation initiatives including Adnoc’s debut capital markets transaction, the issuance of the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (Adcop) bond, the IPO of Adnoc Distribution, the recent strategic equity and commercial partnerships between Adnoc Drilling and Baker Hughes of the US as well as Adnoc Refining’s deal with Eni of Italy.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), the energy and liquefied natural gas producer of the United Arab Emirates, has signed an agreement with Inpex Corp. of Japan to explore LNG bunkering opportunities in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Arabian oil producer and one of the world’s largest companies by revenue, and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company have signed a framework agreement to explore opportunities for cooperation in the natural gas and liquefied natural gas sectors between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.