ADNOC Gas and Immensa Develop Digital Library for Thousands of 3D Printed Spares

A division of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), ADNOC Gas, announced it has been cultivating a digital file catalog to support its additive manufacturing (AM) efforts. In partnership with Gulf region AM service provider Immensa, headquartered in Dubai, ADNOC Gas has thus far added over 3,500 parts to the digital warehouse.

The natural gas supplier has been printing spares on-site for at least two facilities, including parts made from both metals and polymers. At its Das Island operations, for instance, from which the company exports liquefied natural gas (LNG), ADNOC Gas has been using AM to replace air compressor impellers.

In the summer of 2024, Immensa and standards organization Det Norske Veritas (DNV) announced they’d partnered to create the “world’s first” guideline for 3D printing parts for the energy sector. Thanks to its work with Immensa, ADNOC Gas anticipates savings of $50 million by 2028.

In a press release, ADNOC Gas CEO Dr. Ahmed Alebri said, “3D printing provides and advanced digital solution for designing and producing components, optimizing the company’s supply chain, enhancing performance, and reducing costs… By leading the way in integrating [AM] into our operations, we are driving forward operational excellence and delivering exceptional value to our stakeholders.”

According to Reuters, US natural gas consumption reached record levels in the first nine months of 2024. Meanwhile, China may break a record this for LNG imports this year, as it continues to take  advantage of lower prices to amass its stockpiles. At the same time, the International Energy Agency expects global natural gas demand to only increase in 2025. Hotter weather and spiking demand from AI data centers are the two biggest factors driving higher natural gas consumption.

AM may be critical for supporting increased need for natural gas, as major powers across the planet look to build up infrastructure in support of anticipated rising long-term demand. LNG facilities in particular are extremely complex operations requiring enormous capital investment. And, as with seemingly all major infrastructure projects this decade, LNG projects are facing major supply chain issues. For example, a company behind a Florida LNG project recently announced its export facility would be delayed by five years, due in part to supply chain constraints.

Additionally, natural gas could be an ideal market to test AM’s potential for decarbonization. Given that finding a cleaner replacement for coal is one of the biggest factors behind natural gas’s growing role in the global power mix, anything that can help the natural gas industry achieve lower emissions will be indispensable to its future supply chain. Again, that may be particularly relevant for LNG, which has been subject to persistent skepticism concerning the idea that it can be a cleaner alternative to coal.