Adnoc to supply Thailand’s Gulf Group 2 mn tons of LNG

Adnoc is back with Thailand’s Gulf Group on a multi-year LNG agreement for around 2 mn tons in total, starting in 2027, it said in a statement. Adnoc Trading will deliver the volumes under a sales and purchase agreement that builds on the company’s first LNG supply agreement, signed in 2025, Wam reports. The value and exact duration of the agreement were not disclosed.

REMEMBER- Adnoc says the agreement is enabled by the LNG platform it launched in July, combining Adnoc Gas and XRG’s marketing operations with Adnoc Trading’s desk. The platform targets 47 mn tons annually by 2035, and Adnoc Trading remains the counterparty for LNG trading.

Three buyers, one unnamed plant

Adnoc’s Asian LNG book is expanding: Adnoc Gas signed a USD 2.5-3 bn agreement with India’s Hindustan Petroleum in January to supply 500k tons annually from Das Island for 10 years starting 2028. In July, it signed a 15-year agreement with Japan’s Inpex for 1 mn tons a year from Ruwais LNG, also starting 2028, amounting to 15 mn in total.

Origin not found: No source plant has been named for Gulf Group’s supply agreement, unlike the Hindustan Petroleum and Inpex contracts, which are tied to Das Island and Ruwais. Adnoc Trading supplies from a portfolio that includes third-party LNG, and Adnoc says the platform is designed to enhance flexibility and shipping optionality.

The strait is still in the way

Getting LNG out of the Gulf already takes workarounds. By early September, the UAE and Qatar had moved three cargoes through rare LNG ship-to-ship transfers off Oman and the UAE’s east coast for delivery to India and Japan. The gas must stay chilled throughout the handoff, limiting the pool of compatible tankers and equipment. Most LNG tankers also need to switch off their transponders while passing the strait.

Adnoc is also adding ships: Adnoc Logistics & Services ordered two LNG carriers for USD 444 mn in August, with delivery scheduled for 2029, taking its LNG fleet to 24 ships: 10 delivered and 14 under construction.

A permanent way around the strait is still on the drawing board: Adnoc Gas was studying an east-coast LNG export facility as of August, with no final investment decision taken. Its existing 6 mn ton annual capacity at Das Island and the 9.6 mn ton Ruwais project sit inside the strait, leaving UAE-produced LNG exposed to disruptions even as the group expands its international sales portfolio.

The signal: While Adnoc is filling its order book, Hormuz will test its delivery plans. Adnoc is committing LNG to Asian buyers from 2027 while its UAE plants sit inside the strait, and the platform it launched in July is pitched on flexibility and shipping optionality. Neither statement says where the Gulf Group cargoes will load.