ADNOC progresses on Ruwais refinery’s crude flexibility project

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) subsidiary ADNOC Refining is advancing work on its previously announced more than $3-billion project to increase crude processing flexibility and improve margins at the 417,000-b/d West plant of 840,000-b/d Ruwais refining complex in the UAE (OGJ Online, Mar. 26, 2018; Feb. 8, 2018).

As of Aug. 17, the CFP was 73% completed, with major structural elements—notably two new fractionators and 24 atmospheric residue desulfurizer reactors—recently installed at the site over the past 2 months, ADNOC said.

Designed to separate component products within crude feedstock to enable further refining, each of the 317-tonne, 80-m high fractionators was transported to the UAE from South Korea, with installation taking place over a 3-week period during June-July 2020.

First announced in 2018, the now $3.5-billion CFP at Ruwais—a core driver of ADNOC Downstream’s 2030 smart growth strategy—will enable the site to process up to 420,000 b/d of Upper Zakum crude from Abu Dhabi’s offshore fields to be processed with more than 50 other types of similar medium-sour crude types from the market in lieu of fellow UAE-produced, light, sweet Murban crude from onshore fields, which the refinery has predominantly refined for more than 40 years.

Scheduled to be completed in mid-2022, the CFP will increase the value ADNOC derives from every barrel of oil, both by boosting refining margins and by leaving more high-value Murban crude available for export, according to ADNOC.

“We continue to focus on stretching the margin of every barrel of oil we produce to maximize the value of our resources, while also making responsible investments in the current market environment,” said Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, ADNOC’s chief executive officer and UAE minister of industry and advanced technology.

“This investment is another step in our progress to develop Ruwais into a dynamic, global hub for downstream activity, further strengthening ADNOC's role as a key driver of the UAE's long-term industrial growth and economic diversification,” Al Jaber added.

Since 2019, ADNOC Refining has been run as a joint-venture company between ADNOC, Eni SPA, and OMV AG (OGJ Online, Jan. 28, 2019).