ADNOC Gas has signed a 10-year Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with GAIL India Limited, India's largest natural gas company, to supply up to 0.52 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG), starting in 2026.

The SPA converts the previous Heads of Agreement between ADNOC Gas and GAIL, announced in January, into a definitive agreement.

The LNG will be supplied from ADNOC Gas’ Das Island liquefaction facility, which has an LNG production capacity of 6.0 mmtpa. It is the third longest established LNG plant still in production globally. Since 1977, when operations began over 3,500 LNG cargoes have been shipped to customers around the world.

Rashid Khalfan Al Mazrouei, ADNOC Gas Senior Vice President, Marketing, said: “This agreement strengthens ADNOC Gas’ role as a reliable and responsible global natural gas provider and reflects our ambition to capture future growth opportunities in gas demand. It also reinforces our position as a preferred partner for energy solutions in India.

"Global LNG demand is expected to rise by 15% over the next decade, driven by industrial coal-to-gas switching in China and the increased use of LNG for power generation across Southern and Southeast Asia. We are committed to more than doubling our LNG production capacity as part of our strategy to capture a larger share of the growing global demand for lower carbon intensity products like ours.”

Sanjay Kumar, Director (Marketing) at GAIL, said: “India is witnessing a growing demand for LNG to meet its increasing natural gas demand in a diversified sectoral pattern. GAIL plans to significantly increase its term LNG portfolio in the coming years to meet this rising demand. This SPA with ADNOC Gas is a crucial step in this direction, enabling GAIL to augment its existing LNG portfolio to better serve its diverse consumer base.”

To support its international growth ambitions, ADNOC Gas announced this week it expects to acquire ADNOC’s 60% stake in the Ruwais LNG plant, at cost, in H2 2028 when first production is due.

Ruwais LNG, which includes two LNG trains, each with a production capacity of 4.8 mmtpa of LNG, will be the first LNG export facility in the Middle East and Africa region to run on clean grid electricity, making it one of the lowest-carbon intensity LNG plants in the world.

The production plant will leverage artificial intelligence and other advanced digital technologies to enhance safety, minimize emissions and drive efficiency. When it is fully operational in 2029, ADNOC Gas’ operated LNG production capacity will more than double to over 15 mmtpa.

In 2023, India ranked as the fourth-largest importer of LNG globally, with expectations for further growth in LNG imports over the next decade. India aims to increase the share of natural gas in the country's total primary energy mix to 15 per cent by 2030, from about 6 per cent today. India's LNG regasification infrastructure has also enhanced to double capacity last year, rising from 21 mmtpa in 2014.