ADNOC Gas weighs Fujairah terminal after third-quarter profit jumps 101%

Key Facts

Peter van Driel, ADNOC Gas’s chief financial officer, said in a Bloomberg interview on November 10 that the company is considering building a liquefied natural gas terminal in Fujairah to determine whether it offers “good value.” He said the proposed terminal remains under evaluation, with no final decision on whether to proceed. The review comes as the company faces challenges related to regional shipping conditions, as reported in its quarterly results. At the same time, ADNOC Gas reported strong third-quarter results and raised its full-year net income guidance. The Fujairah proposal is part of the company’s efforts to assess its expansion options while focusing on projects already under way.

The company’s net income was $1.34 billion in the third quarter of 2026, up 101% quarter on quarter from $665 million in the second quarter, according to an ADNOC Gas statement. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 70% to $2.03 billion, which the company attributed to strong operational performance and flexible commercial execution across its main business lines. The results reflect a broad improvement in the company’s activities during the quarter, not an investment decision on Fujairah. Domestic gas sales in the UAE rose 20% from the previous quarter, supported by demand the company described as resilient. Operating profit from domestic gas increased 28% over the same period, as margins improved.

In international markets, operating profit from sales of international products rose 106% quarter on quarter, the company said. Profit from sulfur sales recorded a larger increase of 249% over the same period, providing additional support to results. ADNOC Gas said the third-quarter recovery came from operational performance and commercial execution, with contributions from domestic and international product sales. The company did not directly link these figures to its review of the proposed Fujairah terminal. The board also approved a quarterly dividend of $940 million, up 5% year on year, to be paid in December 2026.

Following its third-quarter results, ADNOC Gas raised its 2026 net income guidance to at least $4 billion, while keeping its outlook subject to regional maritime conditions. In the interview, van Driel said the company is focused on delivering its existing projects in the UAE on schedule. Those projects include the Ruwais LNG project, where the company reported installing the first two main refrigeration compressor trains during the third quarter. Van Driel said the Ruwais facility is under construction and will more than double the company’s LNG export capacity. He also pointed to a 45% expansion in production capacity and a target for 60% growth in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization by 2030.

The Fujairah review follows ADNOC’s abandonment in 2023 of separate plans to export LNG from the emirate, according to Energy Intelligence. The publication said the new idea could mark a shift from that decision, but noted that LNG export projects in the northern UAE had remained under discussion for 10 years without progressing beyond feasibility studies, amid political and financing obstacles and constraints on domestic gas pipelines. Energy Intelligence estimated that, if advanced, the project would be the UAE’s third LNG terminal and the first not to require transit through the Strait of Hormuz. The National reported in early November that the strait had remained officially closed during the ninth month of the regional war. ADNOC Gas is targeting operations at Ruwais by the end of 2028, which would lift the country’s LNG export capacity to more than 15 million tonnes a year.

The company is also working to secure international buyers for its supplies. On November 3, it announced a five-year agreement with TotalEnergies to supply up to 1.6 million tonnes of LNG. The deal comes as ADNOC Gas assesses the option of adding new export infrastructure in Fujairah, although the review has not become an announced project or an approved investment. On operations, the company said restoration work at the damaged Habshan complex was proceeding as planned. It added that it remained on track to restore the facility’s full capacity by the second quarter of 2027. The Fujairah terminal remains under evaluation, while the next announced milestones are the restoration of Habshan capacity and completion of the Ruwais project.