By: AGBI

Adnoc Gas has said it may open the Ruwais LNG terminal in Al Ruwais Industrial City early as construction is progressing faster than expected.

The facility is scheduled to begin commercial operations in the second half of 2028, the state-run Wam news agency reported. But Adnoc Gas has already secured contracts covering 80 percent of the plant’s output and the accelerated pace of the build could lead to it delivering sooner.

The remaining gas will be sold on the spot market, mirroring the business strategy used at the five-decade-old Das Island facility.

“The approach supports the generation of stable value during the early phases of operation,” the company said, but admitted that global market outlooks remain fluid.

The revised timeline was not disclosed.

In November 2024 Adnoc Gas announced plans to acquire a 60 percent stake in the Ruwais LNG project from its parent company, Adnoc, for $5 billion on completion.

Over the past three years the business has signed a series of agreements to supply annual LNG volumes ranging between 0.4 and 1.2 million tonnes under contracts lasting up to 14 years.  

Das Island refurbishment

Meanwhile, Adnoc Gas said that a major refurbishment will be undertaken to maintain operational reliability of the Das Island LNG plant following the expansion of loading jetties to accommodate larger vessels last year.

Das Island has a capacity of nearly 6 million tonnes per year. The company, however, has ruled out capacity additions at the site, citing current global market dynamics.

Adnoc Gas has also said it is preparing to take a final investment decision on the second phase of its Rich Gas Development project. 

Work on the first phase, approved in June 2025, is on schedule according to the company and will add 1.5 billion cubic feet per day of processing capacity by 2027 through debottlenecking at Asab, Buhasa, Habshan and Das Island.

The second phase involves the construction of a fractionation unit at the Ruwais facility to produce liquefied petroleum gas, condensate and naphtha. Fractionation is a separation process in which a certain quantity of gas is divided into a number of smaller quantities.

The third phase includes adding a new gas processing train at the Habshan facility.

In December Adnoc secured up to AED40.4 billion in structured financing for future gas production from its offshore Hail and Ghasha projects in the emirate.