ADNOC has announced the signing of a 15-year sales and purchase agreement (SPA) with INPEX CORP., Japan’s largest exploration and production (E&P) company, for the supply of 1 million tpy of LNG from the Ruwais LNG project.
The agreement was announced during a visit to Japan by Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Managing Director and Group CEO of ADNOC, and Executive Chairman of XRG, where he is leading a delegation for meetings with senior Japanese government and business leaders to strengthen the UAE’s longstanding energy partnership with Japan and build on six decades of trusted co-operation.
Nasser Al Muhairi, Acting CEO of ADNOC Downstream Industry, Marketing & Trading, and Chairman of Ruwais LNG, said: “This SPA with INPEX marks the first long-term LNG agreement announced following the launch of ADNOC and XRG’s integrated global LNG marketing and trading platform, demonstrating how we are bringing more LNG molecules, greater market access and enhanced commercial flexibility to our customers. It builds on ADNOC’s decades-long energy partnership with Japan, advances the commercialisation of Ruwais LNG and reinforces strong market confidence in the project. As ADNOC and XRG tar-get 47 million tpy of combined marketable LNG by 2035, Ruwais LNG will be a key source of reliable, flexible, and lower-carbon supply for customers in Asia and around the world.”
The agreement further strengthens the longstanding relationship between INPEX and the ADNOC Group. It aligns with INPEX Vision 2035, announced in February 2025, under which INPEX aims to strengthen its LNG portfolio and supply LNG more flexibly to complement the LNG from its own projects. INPEX is also a long-standing upstream partner of ADNOC, holding participating interests across a number of Abu Dhabi’s offshore and onshore concessions.
The LNG will be primarily sourced from the Ruwais LNG project, which is under development in Al Ruwais Industrial City, Abu Dhabi, and is scheduled to start commercial operations in 2028. The SPA marks another milestone in ADNOC’s global LNG expansion strategy and reinforcing the company’s position as a leading global supplier of lower-carbon LNG.
To date, 90% of the Ruwais LNG project’s 9.6 million tpy production capacity has been committed to international buyers across Asia and Europe through long-term arrangements. The Ruwais LNG plant will be the first LNG export facility in the Middle East and Africa region to operate on clean power, making it one of the lowest-carbon intensity LNG plants in the world. The facility will leverage artificial intelligence and the latest technologies to enhance safety and efficiency, minimise emissions and drive operational excellence.
ADNOC Gas announced in November 2024 that it expects to acquire ADNOC’s 60% stake in the Ruwais LNG project at cost, estimated at around US$5 billion, in 2028. Upon completion, the project, comprising two 4.8 million tpy liquefaction trains with a combined capacity of 9.6 million tpy, will more than double ADNOC Gas’ existing operated LNG production capacity to around 15 million tpy.