The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for its latest liquefied natural gas (LNG) project to industrial construction firm CB&I. The scope includes two 180,000 m3 concrete containment tanks, related piping, and civil infrastructure for ADNOC’s all-electric Ruwais LNG plant.
The contract, let by the TNJ Ruwais joint venture, obligates CB&I’s UAE office to manage delivery of the tanks while coordinating engineering at the company’s Plainfield, Illinois, office and fabrication and modularization with CB&I offices in Saudi Arabia and Thailand.
TJN Ruwais is a joint venture between Technip Energies, Japan’s JGC Corporation, and NMDC Energy, formerly known as Abu Dhabi's National Petroleum Construction Company.
Tank construction is set to begin in November, with the Ruwais LNG plant expected to become operational in early 2028, according to CB&I, headquartered in the Houston area. In a recent press statement, CB&I CEO Mark Butts said, “CB&I’s commitment to the Gulf region for delivery of world-class LNG storage began in 1981 and is shown with this latest project award.”
First Net-Zero LNG Plant in the Middle East
By tapping into renewable power sources, Ruwais is set to become the first net-zero LNG facility in the Middle East and North Africa, according to ADNOC. The project includes two natural gas liquefaction trains, each with a capacity of 4.8 mtpa.
When completed, the facility to be located about 240 km west of Abu Dhabi City in the the Al Ruwais Industrial City, ADNOC will more than double its gas production capacity to over 15 mtpa. Currently, Abu Dhabi produces about 6.1 Bcf/D of gas that is mostly processed at its Habshan gas complex.
The day after the EPC contract was announced, ADNOC awarded $2.1 billion in contracts for related infrastructure including an LNG preconditioning plant (LPP), compression facilities, and transmission pipelines to supply feedstock to Ruwais.
The LPP and compression facilities will be located within ADNOC's Habshan 5 plant, part of one of the world’s largest integrated gas processing complexes. The five plants of the Habshan Complex have a combined capacity to process 6,100 MMscf/D.
The newly awarded transmission pipelines will connect the Habshan Complex with Ruwais LNG.
The $1.24 billion LPP award was let to a consortium consisting of two Egyptian state-owned companies, ENPPI (Engineering for the Petroleum and Process Industries) and Petrojet.
The China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Company scooped a $514 million contract for transmission pipelines while Petrofac Emirates won a $335 million award to develop new compression facilities.
Ruwais LNG is being developed by ADNOC Gas, a subsidiary 90% owned by ADNOC.
The Capex for the LPP, compression facilities, and transmission pipelines, does not form part of the costs previously outlined by ADNOC Gas for its intended acquisition of ADNOC’s majority stake in the Ruwais LNG project when the plant becomes operational in 2028, the company reported.
The three contracts will establish infrastructure required to supply feedstock to the Ruwais LNG export facility. The initiative is part of a $15 billion spending plan through 2029, as outlined in a recent update by ADNOC Gas.
ADNOC had earlier awarded Baker Hughes a $400 million contract to supply two all-electric liquefaction systems to drive the LNG trains at Ruwais. This included Baker Hughes’ 75-MW electric motors and the company’s compressors, making Ruwais LNG one of the first all-electric LNG projects in the Middle East.
