Abu Dhabi and Dubai dominated the UAE LNG market in 2015, on the back of increasing LNG use for addressing primary and standby power needs. These regions are also one of the highest per capita electricity consumers in the world. In 2015, the country's electricity consumption increased to 114.47 TWh, from 107.00 TWh in 2014. Qatar Petroleum, Dolphin Energy, Excelerate Energy and Uniper SE are the major suppliers of LNG in the UAE. In 2016, Abu Dhabi Gas Industries (GASCO), a joint venture between ADNOC, Shell and Total, chartered the floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) and the terminal started importing LNG from Excelerate Energy, a US-based company.
"Low domestic production and rising demand for natural gas from key end user segments has widened [the] demand-supply gap for LNG in the UAE. In 2013, [the] UAE imported 0.41 million t of LNG and registered a capacity utilisation rate of only 13.67%. [The] LNG supply market in the country is anticipated to increase due to its cost competitiveness against locally produced natural gas, capacity additions through [the] installation of [the] floating storage regasification unit and [the] implementation of favourable government policies. Moreover, easy availability of LNG from Qatar, Australia, Canada, Iran, etc., and [the] growing need for environment friendly fuels are expected to aid growth in the UAE market for LNG during the forecast period," said Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research.
