Abu Dhabi's ADNOC investment arm XRG is reportedly considering buying up to 50% of Energos Infrastructure, a floating-LNG platform that could be valued above $3 billion. At the same time, shipowners have ordered more crude-oil VLCC tankers in 2026 than in any comparable period in at least 25 years, committing over $20 billion to long-haul transport. Both moves point to the same shift: energy security and control of physical routes are now driving investment more than the energy transition.
XRG weighs a stake in Energos
Apollo Global Management is exploring strategic options for Energos Infrastructure, including a full or partial sale, and XRG is reportedly among the prospective bidders looking to acquire as much as half the company. Energos operates 13 floating LNG assets, including floating storage and regasification units and LNG carriers, deployed under long-term arrangements in Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Mexico and the Netherlands. Neither XRG, Apollo nor Energos has formally confirmed a transaction, and discussions remain preliminary.
Floating regasification infrastructure lets an importing country convert a coastal site into an LNG gateway far faster than a land-based terminal can be built, a flexibility that has carried a premium since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. XRG has been expanding this kind of position elsewhere too: it holds exposure across all five planned trains at Rio Grande LNG in Texas, has entered Argentina's Vaca Muerta chain alongside Eni and YPF, and already has exposure to Mozambique's LNG resources. The company is targeting a global LNG portfolio of roughly 25 million tons per year by 2035.
Record VLCC ordering follows the same logic
Shipowners are placing an unprecedented number of orders for VLCCs, tankers that each carry around two million barrels of crude oil. Signal Group data cited by Reuters puts 2026 VLCC orders at 217, up from 93 in 2025. Allied Shipbroking, using a different methodology, counts 164 orders against 83 a year earlier. Either way, owners have committed more than $20 billion to new tonnage. BIMCO data shows the wider crude-tanker orderbook has reached about 130 million deadweight tons, roughly 27% of the existing fleet and the highest absolute volume on record, with deliveries stretching toward 2030.
Disruption around Hormuz and the Red Sea has cut effective vessel availability and pushed buyers toward crude from the United States, Brazil, Guyana and West Africa instead of the Gulf. Replacing a Gulf-to-Asia barrel with an Atlantic-to-Asia barrel sharply raises ton-mile demand, so tanker demand can rise even without oil consumption growing. Roughly one-fifth of the existing VLCC fleet is more than 20 years old, supporting replacement demand, but owners are now moving beyond replacement into speculative ordering. If Hormuz and the Red Sea stabilize before the new tonnage arrives, the result could be a brutal freight correction between 2028 and 2030.
Source: Oilprice.com
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