Key facts
- The UAE's Adnoc is investing $8 billion in expanding its gas export capacity.
- A new UAE gas export facility is planned outside the Strait of Hormuz.
- Adnoc Gas will invest over $8 billion in its Rich Gas Development project.
- Kazakhstan is exploring alternative oil export routes via Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey.
- Ukrainian drone attacks are disrupting Kazakhstan's Black Sea oil exports.
- The Strait of Hormuz crisis has significantly disrupted global LPG trade.
- Indian refiners' LPG losses narrowed threefold in August.
- Japan is considering a cost-sharing scheme for crude oil imports bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
- Libya's NOC declared force majeure at its 120,000 b/d Zawiya refinery.
- Clashes hit storage tanks at Libya's Zawiya refinery, causing fires.
The United Arab Emirates is undertaking a significant expansion of its energy export infrastructure, with Adnoc investing $8 billion to develop a new gas export facility located outside the Strait of Hormuz. This strategic move is intended to safeguard energy shipments amidst ongoing regional conflicts and attacks on vessels. Adnoc Gas plans to invest over $8 billion in its Rich Gas Development project, targeting a 60% EBITDA growth by 2030. This expansion includes a new gas processing train at Habshan and a natural gas liquids fractionation unit at Ruwais LNG, which will increase LNG capacity.
Kazakhstan is actively exploring alternative oil export routes to mitigate disruptions caused by Ukrainian drone attacks on its Black Sea terminal. The country is considering options through Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey. These efforts are part of a broader trend among Central Asian states to diversify their energy suppliers, prompted by Russia's limitations on fuel exports. The ongoing crisis involving the Strait of Hormuz has profoundly impacted global LPG trade, leading to a greater dependence on US exports. In August, Indian refiners experienced a threefold reduction in LPG losses, partly due to government compensation and increased imports.
In parallel, Japan is contemplating a cost-sharing mechanism among its refiners and trading houses to support the diversification of crude oil imports, specifically aiming to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. This initiative is designed to enhance Japan's energy security in the face of Middle Eastern disruptions. Separately, Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) has declared force majeure at its 120,000 barrels per day (b/d) Zawiya refinery. This declaration follows clashes between armed groups that resulted in fires after storage tanks were hit, posing a threat to production at the El Sharara oil field.