ADNOC launches integrated LNG platform targeting 47 MMtpa in marketed volumes by 2035

ADNOC launched a global LNG commercial platform on Monday, consolidating the marketing and trading activities of ADNOC Gas, XRG, and ADNOC Trading under a single structure based at the Abu Dhabi Global Market financial center. The integrated platform targets 47 million metric tons per annum in marketed volumes by 2035.

ADNOC launches consolidated LNG commercial platform

ADNOC announced the new platform Monday through a press release, calling it an “integrated commercial platform.” It combines the marketing activities of ADNOC Gas PLC and XRG PJSC — ADNOC’s international investment arm — with the trading operations of ADNOC Trading Ltd., all headquartered at the Abu Dhabi Global Market financial center. The structure is designed to act as a unified front for ADNOC’s expanding LNG ambitions.

As part of the launch, ADNOC appointed Rashid Al Mazrouei as LNG chief marketing and origination officer, giving him oversight of consolidated commercial activities across all contributing entities.

ADNOC Gas’s existing commercial LNG arrangements stay fully intact, and customers dealing with ADNOC Trading won’t see any change to their interfaces.

Why ADNOC is consolidating its LNG operations

This isn’t just an administrative reshuffle. ADNOC says the platform is built to improve flexibility and shipping optionality across a growing, increasingly diverse LNG portfolio—and that matters considerably more now than it did a few years ago, given how fast the company’s production footprint is expanding.

The move directly supports ADNOC Gas’s growing portfolio, most notably the Ruwais LNG project currently under construction. It also aligns with XRG’s broader international gas and infrastructure strategy, which has been gaining momentum through investments across multiple geographies. ADNOC frames this as a natural evolution, pointing to five decades of LNG supply experience as the foundation rather than positioning it as some sudden strategic pivot.

Operational structure and customer arrangements

One of the more telling details in ADNOC’s announcement is what isn’t changing. ADNOC Gas’s existing commercial LNG arrangements stay fully intact, and customers dealing with ADNOC Trading won’t see any change to their interfaces. ADNOC Trading keeps serving as counterparty for all trading activities under the new structure.

Long-term LNG marketing is now centralized under the combined platform—a shift ADNOC expects to create additional upside for ADNOC Gas, including future volumes from Ruwais LNG. ADNOC Trading has built a notable track record quickly: the company developed a significant third-party LNG portfolio in under four years and now ranks among the top global LNG financial traders, running offices in Abu Dhabi, Singapore, and Geneva.

XRG expands stake in Rio Grande LNG project

Alongside the platform announcement, XRG disclosed it completed the purchase of an additional 7.6% stake in the Rio Grande LNG project in Brownsville, Texas. The investment covers the fourth and fifth liquefaction trains, which NextDecade Corp. greenlighted last year. Those two trains add approximately 12 MMtpa to Rio Grande LNG’s capacity, bringing the project’s total under-construction capacity to around 30 MMtpa.

XRG’s exposure to Rio Grande LNG now spans all five trains. Its initial investment gave it an indirect 11.7% stake in Phase 1 — covering Trains 1, 2, and 3 — through BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners. The latest transaction extends that indirect stake through Trains 4 and 5 via the same vehicle.

UAE’s broader LNG production ambitions

The new platform and the Rio Grande investment aren’t isolated moves. They’re part of a larger push by the UAE to significantly expand its LNG production capacity, with ADNOC aiming to more than double that capacity by 2028.

Ruwais LNG is the centerpiece of that domestic ambition. Planned at 9.6 MMtpa and currently under construction, it’ll represent a major addition to the UAE’s LNG output once it comes online. On the logistics side, ADNOC Logistics and Services has expanded its LNG tanker fleet to 20 vessels — including 14 modern two-stroke carriers — signaling investment across the full supply chain, not just production and trading.

The new platform is explicitly designed to reinforce Abu Dhabi’s position as a leading global energy trading center, putting it in direct competition with established hubs in Singapore, London, and Geneva.

Combining marketing and trading

Here’s what ADNOC announced: a consolidated LNG commercial platform headquartered at ADGM, targeting 47 MMtpa in marketed volumes by 2035. It brings together the marketing arms of ADNOC Gas and XRG with the trading operations of ADNOC Trading, under newly appointed LNG chief marketing and origination officer Rashid Al Mazrouei.

Existing customer arrangements stay unchanged. Long-term marketing moves to the centralized platform. XRG has expanded its stake in Rio Grande LNG to cover all five trains, and the UAE continues pushing toward more than doubling its LNG production capacity by 2028—with Ruwais LNG as the primary vehicle for that growth.

Kelly Lippke

Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.