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Adnoc selects contractors for new LNG project in the UAE

18 August 2026

 

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has selected contractors for a design competition it is overseeing for a major project to build a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility along the UAE’s eastern coast.

The proposed onshore LNG liquefaction facility – whose precise location Adnoc has yet to reveal – will have a nameplate output capacity of 4 million tonnes a year (t/y) and will mainly serve export purposes, MEED reported in June. The facility will receive sales-gas-quality feedstock via pipelines from Adnoc’s gas processing facilities in Abu Dhabi and will export LNG via a loading jetty.

MEED previously reported on Adnoc’s intention to execute work on the project through a design competition or front-end engineering and design (feed)-to-engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contest.

Under this model, the project operator selects contractors to carry out feed work. The operator then awards the EPC contract to the contractor with the most competitive feed proposal, while compensating the other contestants for their work.

The Abu Dhabi energy giant has selected the following three entities to undertake feed work on the planned onshore LNG liquefaction facility, according to sources:

  • Saipem (Italy) / Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India)
  • Technip Energies (France) / JGC Corporation (Japan)
  • Tecnimont (Italy)

Adnoc issued draft letters of award to the selected contractors between 11 and 12 August, the sources added.

In addition to the contractors picked by Adnoc, MEED previously reported that the following contractors were shortlisted for the feed-to-EPC contest:

  • McDermott (US)
  • Samsung E&A (South Korea)
  • Wison (China)

MEED reported that Adnoc issued the expression of interest (EoI) document for the planned LNG facility project on 2 June, with contractors submitting responses by 5 June.

Given the strategic importance of the project, Adnoc is understood to be fast-tracking the tendering exercise, issuing the main tender for the feed-to-EPC contest within days of the EoI submission. The company sought proposals from participating contractors by 1 July, sources said.

In its EoI document, Adnoc said it intends to award the main EPC contract in the third quarter of this year.

Adnoc has yet to specify where it plans to build the LNG complex, stating only in the EoI document that it will be located at a coastal site in the UAE.

MEED understands Adnoc may be considering a site near one of the UAE’s eastern port facilities in the emirate of Fujairah. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in recent months has increased interest in prioritising exports and maritime trade through ports on the Gulf of Oman.

The scope of work on the planned LNG facility covers the following units:

LNG facilities:

  • An onshore LNG liquefaction facility in a coastal location, with a nominal output capacity of 4 million t/y;
  • Process units necessary to bring sales feed to a liquefaction-quality feed gas (i.e. carbon dioxide removal, dehydration, mercury removal and total sulphur reduction);
  • Common facilities including inlet receiving facilities, refrigerant storage and flares;
  • Utilities to support the facility, allowing it to be self-sufficient, including but not limited to local power generation and any necessary tie-ins;
  • LNG export facilities, including a jetty and berth;
  • Structures including control buildings, amenities, a laboratory, a warehouse, workshops and administration buildings, to fully support the plant operation.

LNG storage facilities:

  • LNG storage tanks, handling of boil-off gases (BOG) and potentially a BOG reliquefaction unit to facilitate major shutdown operations for bidders opting to compete with a single liquefaction train option.

Feed gas supply:

  • Supplying and installing an additional identical gas compressor to be located at an existing compression station near Adnoc Gas’ Habshan complex in Abu Dhabi, to provide additional capacity in an existing gas pipeline system;
  • A new feed gas pipeline, approximately 160 kilometres long, to route sales gas quality feed gas from an existing pipeline network to the LNG facility.

Modifications to upstream facilities (alternative scope):

  • Installation of sulphur removal beds in Habshan to bring feed gas to required LNG quality at the upstream gas conditioning facility, rather than at the LNG facility. This may be selected by bidders to avoid additional investment for processing the regeneration gas.

Construction facilities:

  • Temporary construction facilities, laydown area and material offloading facility, to support EPC execution requirements;
  • Construction labour accommodation camp.
Adnoc LNG output capacity

Adnoc has an LNG liquefaction capacity of 6 million t/y, which is set to more than double to 15 million t/y when its under-construction LNG terminal complex in Abu Dhabi’s Ruwais enters operations in 2028.

The upcoming LNG export terminal in Ruwais will have the capacity to produce about 9.6 million t/y of LNG from two processing trains, each with a capacity of 4.8 million t/y.

Adnoc awarded the full EPC contract and reached the final investment decision for the Ruwais LNG terminal project in June 2024. A consortium of France’s Technip Energies, Japan-based JGC Corporation and Abu Dhabi-owned NMDC Energy – a subsidiary of NMDC Group – was awarded the $5.5bn EPC contract. In March of that year, Adnoc issued a limited notice to proceed to the consortium of contractors led by Technip Energies for early EPC works on the Ruwais LNG terminal project.

The complex will feature process units, storage tanks and an export jetty for loading cargoes and LNG bunkering, as well as utilities, flare handling systems and associated buildings.

The planned LNG facility will run on electric-powered rotary equipment and compressors instead of gas-fired units. Adnoc awarded a $400m contract in October 2023 to US-based Baker Hughes for the supply of all-electric compression systems for the project. The LNG trains will run on energy-efficient Baker Hughes technology, including compressors driven by 75MW electric motors.

Adnoc has also signed agreements with international energy companies to divest a total stake of 40% in the Ruwais LNG project. UK energy producer BP, Mitsui & Co, Shell and French energy producer TotalEnergies will each hold 10% stakes in the Ruwais LNG terminal project, with Adnoc retaining the majority 60% stake in the facility.

Adnoc Group subsidiary Adnoc Gas will acquire its parent company’s 60% stake in the Ruwais LNG facility at cost in the second half of 2028, when first production from the complex is due.

To date, Adnoc has secured offtake agreements totalling 8 million t/y, representing approximately 90% of the Ruwais LNG project’s output capacity.

Photo for illustration only

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Indrajit Sen

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