ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S), the shipping and maritime logistics arm of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), announced it has signed a contract for the construction of two 175,000 cubic meter LNG vessels that will join its fleet in 2025.
The company said the new LNG vessels will be crucial enablers of ADNOC’s 2030 growth strategy, supporting its existing LNG business and its ambitions to grow its Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) production capacity. They will be built at the Jiangnan Shipyard in China.
In 2020, ADNOC L&S started a strategic growth program to expand and diversify its shipping fleet and offer a broader service to its customers while supporting and enabling the growth of ADNOC’s upstream production capacity and the expansion of its downstream and petrochemical operations.
ADNOC L&S has the largest and most diversified fleet of vessels within the Middle East. Its trading fleet transports crude oil, refined products, dry bulk, containerized cargo, LPG, and LNG to global markets through its owned chartered vessels.
The new-build LNG vessels, each with a capacity of 175,000 cubic meters, are significantly larger than the current ADNOC L&S fleet of LNG vessels, which have a capacity of 137,000m3 each. Each of the new build vessels will carry enough LNG to power 45,000 homes for a year.
The new vessels’ engine technology will slash emissions ( CO2, NOX and SOX ) and in combination with the innovative Air Lubrication System, further, reduce fuel consumption by at least 10 percent, the company said. These vessels will also feature partial reliquefication systems, which further reduce emissions and conserve the cargo.
Jiangnan Shipyard was previously commissioned by ADNOC L&S in 2020 to build five Very Large Gas Carriers for AW Shipping, ANDOC L&S’ Joint Venture company with China’s Wanhua Chemical Group.
Over the past 24 months, ADNOC L&S acquired 16 deep-sea vessels, including eight Very Large Crude Carriers in 2021, adding 16 million barrels of capacity, six product tankers, which expanded the product tanker fleet capacity to over 1 million metric tons, in addition to five Very Large Gas Carriers for AW Shipping.
Captain Abdulkareem Al Masabi, CEO of ADNOC L&S, said, “The expansion and modernization of our LNG fleet will be a key enabler of ADNOC L&S’ growth strategy. This acquisition helps future-proof our fleet with more sustainable, modern vessels capable of serving our customers for the next 25 years and deepens our partnership with Jiangnan Shipyard.”