Saudi Aramco, a global energy and chemicals company and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) have signed a framework agreement to explore opportunities for collaboration in the natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector.

The cooperation brings together two of the world’s leading energy producers from the Arabian Gulf to jointly work together in an area of strategic importance for both companies as they seek to boost revenues from the natural gas and LNG business segments.

The agreement was signed by Amin H Nasser, Saudi Aramco president and CEO and Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Adnoc Group CEO on the sidelines of the ongoing Abu Dhabi International Exhibition & Conference (Adipec) 2018.

Saudi Aramco and Adnoc will jointly assess investment opportunities across the natural gas and LNG value chain, exchange technical knowledge and expertise in natural gas and LNG growth markets.

 Nasser said: “Our partnership with Adnoc continues to strengthen, after the recent decision to jointly develop a major refinery in India. We have shared strategic interest to expand our gas businesses, and this new agreement underlines our confidence in strong global gas demand growth.

“Our cooperation further supports the corporate transformation strategy of both Adnoc and Saudi Aramco to pursue opportunities that help unlock greater value for both companies, and meet the growing needs of stakeholders around the world that depend on our energy to develop and grow their economies.”

 Al Jaber said: “The UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have a strong relationship built on shared strategic interests. Increased cooperation between Adnoc and Saudi Aramco will ensure greater energy security and long-term economic prosperity for both nations.”

 “This agreement reinforces our strategy to undertake partnerships with forward-thinking partners who can help accelerate access to new growth centres of global demand. It will ensure that we are well positioned to secure greater returns from global natural gas and LNG demand growth by combining the technological and operational expertise of two of the world’s leading National Oil Companies,” he added.

Adnoc LNG, a subsidiary of Adnoc, is a reliable LNG supplier with a proven track record over 40 years and 2 per cent of the global share of the LNG market.

LNG is the fastest-growing hydrocarbon with a growth rate of 4 per cent per annum. Global LNG demand is expected to exceed 500 million tonnes per annum by 2035, up from nearly 300 million tonnes per annum in 2017.

Saudi Aramco aims to double natural gas production to 23 billion standard cu ft per day (scfd) over the next decade.

The framework agreement follows the announcement that Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) has approved Adnoc’s new integrated gas strategy that will sustain LNG production to 2040 and allow Adnoc to seize incremental LNG and gas-to-chemicals growth opportunities where they arise from the UAE’s dynamic demand/supply position and evolving energy mix.

It will also enable the company to explore LNG investment opportunities, as well as create additional value from international LNG trading expansion, in response to the dominant role Asian markets will play in driving demand for liquefied natural gas. – TradeArabia News Service