ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S), the shipping and maritime logistics subsidiary of UAE energy giant Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), has made substantial progress on a project for up to 10 174,000 m³ liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers.
Following a global tender, ADNOC L&S has chosen to sign a letter of intent (LOI) for the construction of 6+4 174,000 m³ LNG carriers with South Korean shipbuilders Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean (formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering). The LOI to build up to 10 LNG carriers signed by the two South Korean carriers is part of a larger trade deal between South Korea and the United Arab Emirates, which was reached on May 29.
On May 29, ADNOC L&S confirmed through two separate announcements that it has signed LOI with two shipbuilders for the construction of at least 10 174,000 m³ LNG carriers. Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean will each build 3+2 LNG carriers, which are expected to be delivered in late 2027 or early 2028, when the new shipbuildings will serve ADNOC’s second LNG terminal in Al Ruwais.
ADNOC L&S did not disclose the value of the order, but according to sources, the order for the first six new shipbuildings totaled about $1.6 billion, with a unit cost of about $267 million.
ADNOC L&S is reported to have started the tender process for 6+4 174,000 m3 LNG carriers in January this year, inviting Chinese and South Korean shipbuilders to quote for up to 10 newbuildings. According to the news at that time, the new LNG carriers will adopt the latest technology and are planned to be equipped with either France’s GTT’s Mark III Flex+ membrane containment system or NO96 Super+ membrane containment system, which is yet to be determined.
Adnoc L&S is currently engaged in the renewal of its fleet of LNG carriers. The company has ordered six 175,000 m³ LNG carriers worth more than $1.2 billion from Jiangnan Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), with the first unit to be delivered in December 2024, and the remaining LNG carriers expected to be delivered in 2025 and 2026, according to the company.
In addition to mass construction of large LNG carriers, Adnoc L&S is also building its very Large Liquid Ammonia Carriers (VLACs). It was previously announced that ADNOC L&S has ordered 2+2 93,000 m3 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) dual-fuel-powered VLACs, which can be used to transport either ammonia or LPG, from Jiangnan Shipbuilding through its joint venture with Wanhua Chemical, AW Shipping.
It is understood that ADNOC, founded in 1971, is a state-owned oil enterprise of the United Arab Emirates and a world-class oil and gas industry group company, whose product chain involves almost all fields and every variety of oil, gas and petrochemicals.At the end of 2016, ADNOC set up shipping and maritime logistics subsidiaries through the integration of its three subsidiaries ADNOC L&S.
