Dubai’s Enoc awards contract in Jebel Ali refinery expansion

Enoc is both a refiner and retailer in the energy sector. Sarah Dea / The National

Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) is moving ahead with its US$1 billion Jebel Ali refinery expansion plan by adding 12 storage tanks.

Enoc said yesterday that it had awarded Rotary Engineering of Fujairah a contract to build the 12 tanks, which will help the company increase its refinery capacity by 50 per cent. The additions will be able to store 450,000 cubic metres of jet fuel, naphtha and petrol blends.

Enoc said commercial production from the expanded refinery is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2019.

The UAE’s energy demand is growing at about 9 per cent annually coupled with an increase in population.

Saif Al Falasi, Enoc’s chief executive, said Dubai’s population alone was expected to increase by nearly 32 per cent to 3.3 million by 2021.

He said its energy requirements will also increase as a result. “We will continue to invest in key infrastructure projects to meet this constant growth,” he said.

The Jebel Ali refinery, which came online in 1999, has a production capacity of 140,000 barrels per day. The expansion is expected to increase that to 210,000 bpd.

“This will help us address the needs of the market and wider industry, which has witnessed considerable changes in recent times,” Mr Al Falasi said.

The tanks constructed by Rot­ary will help to speed transportation of stored petroleum products. Roger Kim Piow, the chairman and managing ­director of Rotary Engineering, said the contract signalled the company’s ability to ­“deliver projects of the highest standards”.

Follow The National's Business section on Twitter