Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. has unveiled further details regarding its previously announced plans to accelerate expansion initiatives at the Ruwais refining and petrochemical complex as part of the company’s $45-billion program to become a global downstream leader under a new combined model of strategic partnerships and investments (OGJ Online, May 14, 2018).
In alignment with its 2030 strategy to create a more profitable petroleum sector in the UAE, ADNOC is now expediting its downstream strategy to increase the range and volume of high-value products to help meet rising global demand by seeking to create long-term downstream partnerships will provide access to opportunities across the value chain for both investors and partners, the operator said.
ADNOC said it is now in discussions with multiple strategic partners for potential downstream projects, including partnerships and investments across the operator’s refining and petrochemicals portfolio as well as in developing the new Ruwais Derivatives and Conversion parks to enable creation of a manufacturing ecosystem in Ruwais that will further stimulate in-country value creation, private sector growth, and employment in the UAE.
Designed to double crude oil refining capacity and triple petrochemicals production at Ruwais by 2025, the downstream program currently includes:
• The earlier announced plan to build a grassroots 600,000-b/d refinery, a $3.1-billion project to increase feedstock flexibility at the existing 817,000-b/d Ruwais refining complex.
• Construction of one of the world’s largest mixed-feed crackers that will boost production capacity to 14.4 million tonnes/year by 2025 from 4.5 million tonnes/year in 2016 at the ADNOC-Borealis AG jointly held Abu Dhabi Polymers Co. Ltd.’s (Borouge) integrated polyolefins complex in Ruwais.
• A separate project with Borealis to add a fifth polypropylene plant (PP5) with a production capacity of about 500,000 tpy at Borouge’s Ruwais complex.
• A jointly developed project with Cia. Espanola de Petroleos SAU (Cepsa) of Spain for a 150,000-tonne/year linear alkylbenzene (LAB) installation to be integrated with the Ruwais refining complex (OGJ Online, Mar. 26, 2018).
The operator also reported on May 22 that two additional initiatives under the program will include development of gasoline aromatics project (GAP) that will add processing units to upgrade light and heavy naphtha streams at Ruwais to enable increased gasoline and aromatics production, as well as a carbon black and delayed coking upgrading project aimed at improving product recoverability to maximize bottom-of-the-barrel values at the Ruwais site.
This latest announcement follows ADNOC’s confirmation earlier this month of its agreement with OCP Group of Morocco to consider forming a global fertilizers joint venture exploiting ADNOC’s sulfur production and experience with ammonia and natural gas in combination with OCP’s large phosphate resources and fertilizer expertise, as well as its May 16 entrance into a memorandum of understanding with Ravago Group of Belgium to explore ways to upgrade and commercialize the nonprime products generated at Borouge in the Ruwais industrial complex (OGJ Online, May 15, 2018).
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].
