The UAE is planning to install 15 million tonnes a year (t/y) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) import capacity at the eastern emirate of Fujairah, according to an official from the Fujairah government.

Emirates LNG, a joint venture of two state-owned Abu Dhabi-based companies, is preparing to install a 9 million t/y regasification terminal at the port and tendered the project’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract earlier this year.

“[The LNG terminal’s capacity] will be increased to 15 million t/y ultimately,” said Salem Khalil, technical advisor at the Fujairah government, speaking at the Energy Markets Forum in Fujairah on 23 September.

Plans to increase the capacity of the terminal over the long-term indicate that the UAE government believes it will require more LNG imports to meet gas demand over the next decade.

Emirates LNG initially planned to construct a floating facility for the first phase of the project, but this has now been scrapped in favour of a fully land-based terminal.

Once finished, the facility will be the Middle East’s first land-based LNG regasification facility and the largest in the region.

The front-end engineering and design (feed) phase was carried out by France’s Technip. The project’s feasibility study was completed by US-based Poten & Partners.

Emirates LNG’s main customers are expected to be the Fujairah 1 and 2 integrated water and power plants (IWPPs), which are majority owned by the Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (Adwea).

Once the 9 million t/y Fujairah terminal is completed, the UAE will have an LNG import capacity of 12 million t/y, with LNG import facilities already installed in Jebel Ali, Dubai. The country’s capacity to export LNG is 8 million t/y.

Emirates LNG is a joint venture of state-owned Abu Dhabi groups Mubadala Petroleum and International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic).