Ruwais LNG: Owners, Capacity and Timeline

Last updated: October 7, 2026

Ruwais LNG is ADNOC’s $5.5 billion liquefied natural gas export terminal under construction at Al Ruwais Industrial City in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra Region. Sanctioned via Final Investment Decision (FID) on June 14, 2024, the two-train, 9.6 million-tonnes-per-year (mtpa) facility will more than double ADNOC Gas’s LNG production capacity and is on track to deliver its first cargoes from mid-2028, with over 90% of its output already committed under long-term supply agreements to buyers across Asia and Europe.

Project Snapshot

Ownership Structure

Ruwais LNG is currently majority-owned by ADNOC, which holds a 60% interest that it plans to transfer, at cost, to its listed subsidiary ADNOC Gas Plc around the second half of 2028 — a deal reported at roughly $5 billion and framed as part of ADNOC Gas’s plan to invest some $15 billion in new growth capacity over the following years. The remaining 40% is split evenly among four international energy majors, each holding a 10% stake under equity partnership agreements signed on July 10, 2024: Shell, bp, TotalEnergies and Japan’s Mitsui & Co. The agreements were signed by ADNOC Group CEO Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber alongside bp CEO Murray Auchincloss, Mitsui & Co President and CEO Kenichi Hori, Shell CEO Wael Sawan and TotalEnergies Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanne. ADNOC Gas operates the facility on behalf of all partners.

Technology & Scale

Ruwais LNG consists of two liquefaction trains of 4.8 mtpa each, for total nameplate capacity of 9.6 mtpa. Rather than the gas-turbine-driven compressors used at most LNG plants, Ruwais LNG uses an electric-drive (“E-Drive”) design, running its compressors on electric motors supplied by clean power from the UAE’s national grid. ADNOC has described this as making Ruwais the first LNG export facility in the Middle East and North Africa region to run on clean electricity rather than on-site gas-fired generation, alongside digital and AI-enabled systems the company says are intended to improve safety, efficiency and emissions management. Once both trains are operating, the project more than doubles ADNOC Gas’s existing gross LNG capacity, which is currently produced from an older facility on Das Island, taking the subsidiary’s combined LNG capacity to around 15.6 mtpa.

Financing & Offtake

ADNOC and its equity partners are funding Ruwais LNG directly; no dedicated project-financing package separate from the partners’ own capital has been publicly announced. On the offtake side, ADNOC has moved quickly to lock in buyers: within 16 months of FID it had signed eight long-term sale and purchase agreements, and by January 2026 ADNOC Gas said long-term commitments covered more than 90% of the plant’s 9.6 mtpa capacity. Publicly disclosed agreements include a 15-year SPA for up to 1 mtpa with Shell (finalized as the most recent in a string of deals), a 15-year SPA for 1 mtpa with Japan’s INPEX Corporation signed in July 2026, a 15-year supply contract with Singapore’s ENN LNG, and an agreement for up to 2 mtpa with Thailand’s Gulf Group reached on October 5, 2026 — underscoring Ruwais’s split between Asian and European buyers rather than a single anchor offtaker.

Timeline & Status

• June 12, 2024 — The Executive Committee of ADNOC’s Board of Directors, chaired by Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, endorses proceeding with Ruwais LNG.
• June 14, 2024 — ADNOC formally takes FID and awards the roughly $5.5 billion EPC contract to a Technip Energies-led joint venture with JGC and NPCC.
• July 10, 2024 — Shell, bp, TotalEnergies and Mitsui & Co each sign agreements to take 10% equity stakes in the project.
• Through late 2025 — ADNOC signs a succession of long-term offtake agreements, including with ENN LNG of Singapore, reaching more than 80% of capacity committed.
• January 2026 — ADNOC Gas reports construction running ahead of schedule and long-term commitments covering over 90% of capacity, raising the prospect of an earlier commercial start.
• July 2026 — ADNOC signs a 15-year, 1 mtpa SPA with Japan’s INPEX Corporation.
• October 5, 2026 — ADNOC agrees a multi-year supply deal for up to 2 mtpa with Thailand’s Gulf Group.
• Second half of 2028 (targeted) — Train 1 begins commercial operations.
• Early 2029 (targeted) — Train 2 follows, completing the 9.6 mtpa facility.

TDE will update this page’s capacity-committed figures, construction status and start-up dates as ADNOC Gas reports further progress or offtake agreements.

Why It Matters

Ruwais LNG is ADNOC’s largest single bet on LNG as a growth business, more than doubling its export capacity at a moment when global buyers are racing to lock in supply ahead of a wave of new US, Qatari and other project start-ups later this decade. Bringing in Shell, bp, TotalEnergies and Mitsui as equal 10% partners — rather than developing the project alone — gives ADNOC built-in offtake relationships and shares development risk with firms that already run LNG portfolios of their own, while the planned transfer of ADNOC’s 60% stake to publicly listed ADNOC Gas is a concrete step in folding the project into a vehicle that international investors can hold directly on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. The project’s electric-drive, grid-powered design is also a marker for how Gulf LNG developers are responding to buyer and investor scrutiny of the carbon intensity of new liquefaction capacity, without changing the fundamental economics of a gas export project this size.

Related Entities

• ADNOC — parent company and 60% owner of Ruwais LNG, to transfer its stake to ADNOC Gas around 2028
• ADNOC Gas — ADNOC’s listed gas processing and LNG subsidiary and operator of Ruwais LNG (profile forthcoming on TDE)
• Shell, bp, TotalEnergies, Mitsui & Co — each a 10% equity partner in Ruwais LNG (profiles forthcoming on TDE, except Shell)
• Shell plc — 10% equity partner and signatory of a 15-year LNG offtake agreement for up to 1 mtpa
• Wael Sawan — Shell CEO who signed Shell’s Ruwais LNG equity partnership agreement
• Qatar’s North Field LNG Expansion: Project Tracker — the Gulf’s other major LNG capacity expansion, competing for many of the same Asian buyers
• TDE Investments hub
• TDE Oil & Gas hub

Sources

• MEES — ADNOC Takes FID on Ruwais LNG
• Oil & Gas Journal — ADNOC Makes FID to Proceed With Ruwais LNG Project, Lets EPC Contract
• Oil & Gas Journal — Shell, bp, Mitsui, TotalEnergies Invest in Ruwais LNG
• Oil & Gas Journal — ADNOC Gas to Acquire 60% Stake in Ruwais LNG From ADNOC
• AGBI — ADNOC Gas Targets Early Launch of Ruwais LNG
• S&P Global — More Offtake Agreements in the Pipeline for ADNOC’s Ruwais LNG Project
• ADNOC / ChemXplore — ADNOC and INPEX Sign 15-Year SPA for Ruwais LNG

Frequently Asked Questions

Who owns Ruwais LNG?

ADNOC holds a 60% stake, which it plans to transfer to its listed subsidiary ADNOC Gas around the second half of 2028. Shell, bp, TotalEnergies and Mitsui & Co each hold the remaining 10% under agreements signed in July 2024.

How much LNG will Ruwais produce?

Ruwais LNG has two liquefaction trains of 4.8 million tonnes per year (mtpa) each, for total capacity of 9.6 mtpa, which will more than double ADNOC Gas’s existing LNG production capacity.

When will Ruwais LNG start production?

ADNOC took its Final Investment Decision on June 14, 2024. The first train is expected to start commercial operations in the second half of 2028, with the second train following in early 2029; construction was reported ahead of schedule as of January 2026.

Who is buying LNG from Ruwais?

By January 2026, long-term agreements covered more than 90% of Ruwais LNG’s capacity. Publicly named buyers include Shell, Japan’s INPEX Corporation, Singapore’s ENN LNG and Thailand’s Gulf Group.

Illustrative image. Photo: giggel, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons — source