ADNOC Gas Studies a Fujairah LNG Project to Export Gas Without Crossing Hormuz

Chief executive Fatema Mohamed Al Nuaimi said the company had spent the past months "studying different means and ways" of finding alternative routes to deliver gas to its customers, according to AGBI. She said no final decision had been made. She also said demand from customers in Asia, including India and China, had increased.

Chief financial officer Peter van Driel said the company would give details on the project's size, the amount of gas involved and the volumes it plans to sell "once a decision is made".

The study reflects a weakness in the company's growth plans. Fujairah is on the Gulf of Oman, outside the strait, and has kept UAE oil exports moving during the US-Iran war. ADNOC Gas's flagship LNG expansion is on the other side of Hormuz. The Ruwais LNG project in Abu Dhabi, which ADNOC Gas is managing, will need ships to pass through the strait. It is due to start exporting cargoes in early 2028 or early 2029, according to AGBI. Once complete, Ruwais is expected to process nearly 10 million tonnes a year, more than doubling ADNOC's current LNG capacity.

The strait's future is part of the talks to end the war. Iran has offered to lift its restrictions on Hormuz shipping if the US ends its blockade of Iranian ports, eases some sanctions and stops American and Israeli bombing, The National reported. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called those conditions unrealistic.

ADNOC Gas reported net income of $1.3 billion for the third quarter, double the previous three months. It said its domestic gas, LNG, export liquids and sulphur businesses performed well. The company expects full-year net income of about $4 billion. That is the top of its earlier guidance range but still more than 20 percent below 2025.

Executives said all four of the company's major projects made progress in the quarter. The largest is the $13.2 billion Rich Gas Development programme, which expands processing capacity at a number of sites. Ruwais LNG is the second. The third is the $3.6 billion MERAM project to recover more ethane and other gas liquids at the Habshan complex, expected in 2027. The fourth is Estidama, a $2.4 billion expansion of the national gas pipeline network, which ADNOC owns and ADNOC Gas is building and will operate.

The company has also signed new supply contracts in recent weeks. One is a five-year agreement for TotalEnergies to buy up to 1.6 million tonnes of LNG.

ADNOC Gas shares are down almost 5 percent this year, though they have recovered from a slump in October. The company did not say when it expects to decide on the Fujairah project.