ADNOC Planning To Build World's Biggest Refinery, Chemicals Site In UAE

Oil giant Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has announced plans to move further downstream by building the world’s largest integrated refining and chemical site in Ruwais, United Arab Emirates.

Speaking at CERAWeek, a gathering of the energy industry held in US recently, ADNOC’s Chief Executive Officer Dr. Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al-Jaber, set out ADNOC’s strategic ambitions to become a major global downstream player as the company looks to take advantage of the rising demand for higher value refined and petrochemical products, particularly in China and Asia.

“The steps we have taken so far have laid a solid foundation for powering the next phase of our growth,” he said and added, “And the biggest opportunity for that growth is downstream, particularly in petrochemicals, where demand is expected to climb 150 per cent by 2040, driven by the growth economies of Asia”. The ADNOC CEO said downstream investments like refining and chemicals represent the company’s biggest future opportunity. The company plans on trip-ling petrochemical production to 14.4-mn tons annually by 2025, he said.

“Our goal by 2025 is to transform Ruwais into the largest integrated refining and chemicals site in the world – doubling our refining capacity and tripling our petrochemicals production,” said Dr. Al-Jaber.

The company will host a Downstream Investment Forum in Abu Dhabi in May where new investment opportunities in the downstream sector will be announced. “We will unveil significant co-investment opportunities for all partners, ready to work alongside us at a special event this coming May, as we transform our downstream portfolio domestically and internationally,” said Dr. Al-Jaber.

In support of ADNOC’s upstream expansion strategy, Dr. Al-Jaber also said that a series of new blocks are to be made available for commercially competitive bidding for both existing and new partners to unlock untapped resources in one of the world’s largest hydrocarbon super-basins. ADNOC is currently bringing in additional partners who can bring strategic value add to the table – in terms of market access, capital, technology and expertise in its offshore concessions. Companies from India, Japan and Spain were recently awarded long-term contracts to develop Abu Dhabi’s offshore oilfields.