Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC has announced a 15-year sales and purchase agreement (SPA) with Shell International Trading Middle East Limited FZE, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shell plc (Shell), for the delivery of up to 1 million tons per annum (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The deal signed during ADIPEC marks ADNOC’s first long-term LNG sales agreement with Shell and the eighth long-term offtake agreement secured for the Ruwais LNG project.
This SPA converts a previous Heads of Agreement into a definitive agreement and marks a significant step in ADNOC’s efforts to rapidly commercialize the Ruwais LNG project.
ADNOC states that with this latest agreement, more than 8 mtpa of the project’s planned 9.6 mtpa capacity is now secured through long-term deals with customers across Asia and Europe, just 16 months after the project’s Final Investment Decision (FID) in July 2024.
The LNG will be primarily sourced from the Ruwais LNG project, currently under development in Al Ruwais Industrial City, Abu Dhabi, where Shell holds a 10% stake in the project through its subsidiary Shell Overseas Holdings Limited.
As it is mentioned by ADNOC, the Ruwais LNG plant will be the first LNG export facility in the Middle East and Africa region to operate on clean power, making it one of the lowest-carbon intensity LNG projects in the world.
“Securing over 80% of Ruwais LNG’s capacity in just over a year from FID is a remarkable achievement that sets a new benchmark for large-scale LNG projects globally. While the industry can take up to four or five years to market such volumes, Ruwais is advancing at record pace. In parallel, construction, contractor mobilization, and site works are all on track for commissioning by the end of 2028,” said Fatema Al Nuaimi, chief executive officer of ADNOC Gas.
