Technip Energies to Lead Low-Carbon Efforts at Ruwais LNG

Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--More support is coming to what will be the Middle East and North Africa's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility as French services firm Technip Energies said it was now leading a joint venture tasked with low-carbon engineering work in Abu Dhabi.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) selected Technip Energies (Paris, France), alongside Japanese engineering company JGC Holdings Corporation (Kanagawa) and Middle East-focused NMDC Energy (Abu Dhabi), for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work at the planned facility at the Ruwais Industrial City that will export LNG.

The plant, the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, will run on nuclear energy rather than gas turbines, supporting a broader decarbonization effort across the area. The latest EPC contract focuses on lowering the plant's emissions.

"By powering electrified LNG trains with nuclear energy, this project sets a new standard for energy security and sustainability," Arnaud Pieton, the chief executive officer at Technip Energies, said Tuesday. "By leveraging our low-carbon and electrified LNG leadership we will support ADNOC's position as a reliable global natural gas supplier and commitment to decarbonization."

ADNOC picked Technip Energies to lead much of the EPC work at Ruwais after making a US$5.5 billion final investment decision (FID) on the two-train export facility at Ruwais. Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, said last week that ADNOC is focused on delivering "smarter, cleaner and safer energy" to the world.

"The facility will leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and the latest technologies to enhance safety, minimize emissions and drive efficiency," ADNOC added.

Respecting the Paris climate accord, the United Arab Emirates is concerned about a changing climate as models suggests its annual average temperature is expected to increase by as much as 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2040.

A national climate plan calls for the nation to rely on 50% of its energy needs through renewables by 2050.

Though cleaner than coal, LNG is still a fossil fuel derived from raw natural gas, which consists largely of methane. Released into the air, methane is a potent greenhouse gas with a warming potential far greater than that of carbon dioxide.

Liquefaction terminals account for a small amount of methane leaks, with much of the pollution coming from upstream at the well head. Scientists at the U.S. space agency NASA had observed a 2-mile plume of methane emanating from the Permian Basin in the United States.

The United States is the clear leader in LNG exports, though U.S. President Joe Biden has put a pause on new facilities while it examines the sector's overall environmental footprint. ADNOC recently purchased a minority stake in the Rio Grande LNG facility, which construction work is slated for the Brownsville shipping channel in the far south of Texas. It's permitted for as much as 1.3 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of LNG exports per year.

Ruwais will consist of two liquefaction facilities, or trains, that will have a peak design capacity of 4.8 million metric tons (mtpa) each. ADNOC already produces around 15 mtpa in LNG from existing UAE infrastructure.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Production Project Database can learn more by viewing the Ruwais project report.

Subscribers can click here for the Rio Grande LNG project reports.

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