State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has awarded contracts worth $5.5 billion to build its Ruwais project which will more than double the United Arab Emirates' liquefied natural gas (LNG) output, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

ADNOC, which also received the final investment decision for the project on Wednesday, awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts to a joint venture led by France's Technip Energies with Japan's JGC Corporation and the UAE's NMDC Group, the government media office said.

Some work had already begun on the plant, as the joint venture was given a "limited notice to proceed" in March. ADNOC, which expects to produce about 9.6 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG from the project, has also signed three supply agreements for its eventual output.

Supply deals for LNG from Ruwais, expected to be operational by late 2028, were signed with Germany's EnBW and Securing Energy for Europe (SEFE), as well as China's ENN Natural Gas.

ADNOC last year said the project would proceed in Al Ruwais Industrial City in Abu Dhabi's Al Dhafra region, west of the capital city, and not in the emirate of Fujairah as had been planned. The company said at the time the proximity to ADNOC's current operations and future growth projects, as well as its local supplier base, were all important factors in the decision.