Chinese Energy Companies Sign Long-Term LNG Agreements with ADNOC

Chinese private company ENN Gas and state-owned company Zhenhua Oil have signed term agreements to purchase liquefied natural gas from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). The deals mark significant progress China has made in securing long-term stable energy supplies from its overseas partners.

ENN Gas announced on the 19th that it had signed a 15-year agreement with ADNOC to receive about 1 million tons of LNG per year. According to media reports, the agreement is ADNOC's largest LNG contract with a Chinese buyer to date. ENN Gas said the deal is a key step in its strategy to enhance a stable energy supply chain and diversify LNG procurement.

ENN Gas is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and currently holds a 34.28% stake in ENN Energy, a clean energy distributor listed in Hong Kong. The company has proposed to acquire the remaining shares of ENN Energy for a transaction price of approximately US$7.65 billion, further expanding its footprint in the energy sector.

Meanwhile, Chinese state-owned oil and gas trading company Zhenhua Oil signed a five-year LNG supply agreement with ADNOC. According to a Chinese industry insider with direct knowledge of the agreement, the deal will take effect in 2026 and supply up to 12 cargoes per year.

The contract for Zhenhua Oil is its first long-term LNG deal, with pricing based on gas delivered to Rudong, Jiangsu Province in eastern China. Media reports indicate that part of the LNG will be benchmarked to the Japan-Korea Market (JKM), while the rest will be pegged to Brent crude prices.

Zhenhua Energy, which already has an energy partnership with ADNOC in Abu Dhabi, is currently building its first LNG terminal in Rudong. The terminal is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2026, which will allow the company to play a greater role in China's gas import strategy.