Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) and Japan’s INPEX Corp. just signed a 15-year sale and purchase agreement for one million metric tons per annum of LNG. The deal came together during ADNOC CEO Sultan Al Jaber’s visit to Japan, and most of those contracted volumes will come from Ruwais LNG — ADNOC’s flagship liquefaction project currently under construction in the UAE.
Deal terms and signing context
The agreement commits ADNOC to delivering 1 MMtpa of LNG to INPEX Corp. — one of Japan’s largest energy companies — over 15 years. Sultan Al Jaber, who also serves as UAE industry and advanced technology minister, signed the deal in person during his Japan trip. That’s not just a commercial detail; it signals the diplomatic weight both sides are placing behind this partnership.
ADNOC framed it in historical terms, saying the deal “builds on ADNOC’s decades-long energy partnership with Japan” — a relationship that started with crude oil exports and has gradually expanded into gas and LNG. Japan is one of the UAE’s most important long-term energy customers, and this agreement deepens that connection further.
The committed offtake at Ruwais now sits at 90 percent of total capacity—a strong commercial position for a project still roughly two years from first production.
Why ADNOC and INPEX pursued the agreement
For ADNOC, this is a commercialization milestone. The company says 90 percent of Ruwais LNG’s 9.6 MMtpa production capacity is now committed to international buyers across Asia and Europe through long-term deals — a strong vote of confidence in a project that hasn’t started operations yet.
Japan’s appetite for Ruwais LNG stands out. Nearly 23 percent of the project’s total capacity has been offtaken by Japanese customers, making Japan the single largest national buyer in the entire offtake mix. That concentration reflects Japan’s continued reliance on LNG imports for power generation and industrial use.
INPEX’s motivation is fairly direct. Its Vision 2035 strategy, announced in February 2025, explicitly calls for strengthening its LNG portfolio and sourcing supply more flexibly—complementing volumes from its own upstream projects. INPEX described this SPA as “an important development toward achieving the aim.”
There’s also a notable first here. ADNOC confirmed this is the first contract executed through its newly launched unified LNG marketing and trading platform, making the INPEX deal a live test of the new commercial structure.
Impact on Ruwais LNG and UAE energy capacity
Ruwais LNG is a two-train project, each train carrying a capacity of 4.8 MMtpa, for a combined total of 9.6 MMtpa. When commercial operations start—targeted for 2028—ADNOC says it’ll more than double the UAE’s existing LNG production capacity. That’s a significant jump for a country that has supplied LNG for decades but at a modest scale compared to Qatar.
With 90 percent of capacity locked in through long-term agreements, Ruwais LNG is heading into its final construction phase on solid commercial footing. That level of pre-commitment typically reduces financing risk and tells the broader market that buyers see real long-term value in the supply. For the UAE, Ruwais LNG is a strategic bet on sustained global LNG demand — particularly from Asia — well into the 2030s and beyond.
ADNOC’s new unified LNG platform and broader ambitions
The INPEX deal didn’t happen in isolation. It’s the first transaction under ADNOC’s newly consolidated LNG marketing and trading platform — a structure that brings together ADNOC Gas PLC, international investment arm XRG PJSC, and ADNOC Trading Ltd.
The platform carries an ambitious target: 47 MMtpa in marketed volumes by 2035. Built on five decades of LNG supply experience, it’s designed to enhance flexibility and shipping optionality. The goal is to position Abu Dhabi as a global energy trading center, not just a production hub.
Each entity plays a distinct role. ADNOC Trading — already ranked among the top global LNG financial traders — handles trading activities from offices in Abu Dhabi, Singapore, and Geneva. XRG focuses on international gas and infrastructure growth, with supply hubs in London and Abu Dhabi. Long-term LNG marketing gets centralized under the combined platform.
ADNOC also confirmed that existing commercial LNG arrangements for ADNOC Gas stay unchanged. The new platform is additive, not disruptive—designed to create “further upside” by optimizing marketing activities across a growing portfolio, including future Ruwais LNG volumes.
The debut of ADNOC’s unified LNG marketing and trading platform
Here’s what matters most. ADNOC has locked in a 15-year, 1 MMtpa LNG supply commitment with INPEX Corp., with most volumes sourced from Ruwais LNG. The committed offtake at Ruwais now sits at 90 percent of total capacity—a strong commercial position for a project still roughly two years from first production.
Japan accounts for nearly a quarter of Ruwais LNG’s total offtake, underscoring just how central the Japan-UAE energy relationship remains. For INPEX, the deal supports its Vision 2035 goal of building a more flexible, diversified LNG supply portfolio.
The transaction also marks the debut of ADNOC’s unified LNG marketing and trading platform, which is targeting 47 MMtpa in marketed volumes by 2035. As Ruwais LNG moves toward its 2028 start date, ADNOC is clearly working to establish itself not just as a producer but as a major force in global LNG trading.
Staff Writer
Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.
Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.