ADNOC L&S deploys five Very Large Gas Carriers to meet growing global gas demand

Abu Dhabi: ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S), the shipping and maritime logistics arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), has deployed five new-build Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGC). The VLGCs were built at Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, China, and will be owned and operated by AW Shipping, an ADNOC L&S joint venture with Wanhua Chemical Group.

The gas carriers, which have a capacity of 86,000 cubic meters each, will transport liquified petroleum gas (LPG) and provide ADNOC L&S with greater flexibility to meet growing global gas demand. These vessels have dual-fuel engine technology and use LPG as their primary fuel source, making them among the lowest-emission vessels of this type.

“As natural gas plays a critical role as a lower carbon-intensity fuel for the energy transition, the addition of these new-build, lower-emission vessels to ADNOC L&S’ growing fleet of over 800 owned, operated and chartered vessels, represents another important milestone as we bolster our capacity to capitalize on growing global energy demand,” said Captain Abdulkareem Al Masabi, CEO of ADNOC L&S and Chairman of AW Shipping. “Natural gas is playing an increasingly important role in the global energy landscape and ADNOC L&S is expanding its gas fleet to serve customer demand, while reducing the carbon intensity of our vessels.”

AW Shipping will own and operate the VLGCs, transporting LPG cargoes sourced from ADNOC and other global suppliers to Wanhua’s manufacturing bases in China and around the world. AW Shipping was formed in 2020 to support a 10-year LPG supply contract, signed in 2018 between ADNOC and Wanhua.

Wanhua Chemical Group CEO Kou Guangwu said, “The AW Shipping joint venture has added great value to both Wanhua and ADNOC L&S by optimizing the supply chain. Together with ADNOC L&S, we are strongly committed to the future development of AW Shipping.”

Jiangnan Shipyard, which delivered the VLGCs, is also building liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers for ADNOC L&S, scheduled for delivery in 2025 and 2026. This shows ADNOC’s commitment to expanding its gas fleet to meet growing customer demand while reducing the carbon intensity of its vessels.