Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Adnoc Group chief executive, says Ruwais will become home to a major manufacturing ecosystem. Victor Besa / The National
Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Adnoc Group chief executive, says Ruwais will become home to a major manufacturing ecosystem. Victor Besa / The National
Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Adnoc Group chief executive, says Ruwais will become home to a major manufacturing ecosystem. Victor Besa / The National
Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Adnoc Group chief executive, says Ruwais will become home to a major manufacturing ecosystem. Victor Besa / The National

Adnoc to invest Dh165bn with partners in downstream


Jennifer Gnana
  • English
  • Arabic

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company will invest Dh165 billion in downstream operations in partnership with global players over the next five years as the company looks to build the world's largest integrated refining and petrochemicals facility, with plans under way to create a manufacturing ecosystem at Ruwais.

State-owned Adnoc will increase its current refining capacity of 922,000 barrels per day – already the world's fourth largest – by the addition of a new 600,000 bpd refinery that will boost its total capacity to process crude and condensate to 1.5 million bpd, making it the largest such facility in the world.

"Given the projected increase in demand for petrochemicals and higher value refined products, we are repositioning Adnoc to become a leading global downstream player. We will invest significantly in Ruwais and open up attractive partnership and co-investment opportunities along our extended value chain," said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and Adnoc Group chief executive.

The UAE accounts for 6 per cent of the global oil production, much of it from Abu Dhabi. Adnoc plans to reposition itself as a downstream player amid rising demand for refined products and chemicals in the growing markets of Asia, where other Arabian Gulf players like Saudi Aramco are considering large-scale refining and chemicals investments. The UAE last year approved a five-year spending plan of Dh400bn to be invested in exploring for the country's sour gas reserves as well as acquiring and developing downstream assets abroad.

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Read more:

Adnoc puts Ruwais at the heart of plans for UAE's future beyond oil

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Adnoc's new refinery, which will boost its current capacity by more than 65 per cent by 2025, will add to greater flexibility in refining and processing other grades apart from the UAE's flagship Murban crude. Ruwais' chemicals segment will see a trebling of production capacity from 4.5 million tonnes per annum to 14.4 mtpa by 2025, as plans get under way for the world's largest mixed feed cracker. The complex will also include a 1.6 million tonne per annum facility to produce aromatics.

The downstream development is expected to contribute to one per cent growth per year and create 15,000 jobs by 2025, Dr Al Jaber said at a downstream gathering of global chief executives in Abu Dhabi.

Adnoc would look to develop its new 600,000 bpd refinery as a “merchant or an export refinery” capable of processing other crude grades and driven commercially, said Iman Nasseri, Middle East managing director at Facts Global Energy, who noted the removal of subsidies in Gulf economies had incentivised national oil companies to prioritise profitability.

“When there were subsidies it was not profitable and the companies were often selling the crude into international markets to get the market value,” he said.

“In a way the integration is mainly driven by economies [of scale] and certain projects were only strategic decisions but eventually what we’re seeing today in Abu Dhabi and Aramco is more commercially driven and towards higher profits,” he added

Adnoc’s facilities currently process 10.5 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day and produce some 40 million tonnes annually of refined products, such as granulated urea, liquefied petroleum gas, naphtha, petrol, jet fuel, gas oil and base oils, fuel oil, as well as feedstock for chemicals.

Ruwais, which currently includes two refineries and petchems facilities, owned and operated by Borouge – Adnoc's joint venture with Austria's Borealis – will see development of a six square kilometre derivatives and conversions park that will be integrated with the larger complex.

The park will source feedstock from Adnoc's facilities in Ruwais and will "act as a prime catalyst for the next stage of petrochemical transformation by inviting partners to invest and produce new products and solutions," the company said.

The park is set to produce higher-value chemical products such as packaging materials, coatings, flooring, high voltage insulation and automotive composites.

A conversion park spread over 3.5 square kilometres will also be developed to include  industry clusters, making use of derivatives produced in adjoining facilities.

Adnoc would provide “feedstock, utilities, and land” at competitive rates to international players looking to invest in Ruwais, said Adnoc downstream director Abdulaziz Alhajri.

"In a way Ruwais is planned to become the petrochemical and refining equivalent of the Silicon Valley, everything will be there. So this step change in the derivatives will also have another opportunity,” he said

"It’s to create further downstream convergence opportunities. These opportunities will be available for the private sector, for small, medium and  large enterprises."

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While you're here
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2. Fabio Aru (ITA/AST) at 0:18.

3. Romain Bardet (FRA/ALM) 0:23.

4. Rigoberto Uran (COL/CAN) 0:29.

5. Mikel Landa (ESP/SKY) 1:17.

Sole survivors
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  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Fines for littering

In Dubai:

Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro

Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle. 
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle

In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
Dh10,000 for littering at Ajman's beaches 

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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.” 

if you go

The flights

Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes. 

The hotels

Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes. 

When to visit

March-May and September-November

Visas

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Takreem Awards winners 2021

Corporate Leadership: Carl Bistany (Lebanon)

Cultural Excellence: Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE)

Environmental Development and Sustainability: Bkerzay (Lebanon)

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Humanitarian and Civic Services: Women’s Programs Association (Lebanon)

Humanitarian and Civic Services: Osamah Al Thini (Libya)

Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)

Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)

Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)

Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)

Lifetime Achievement: Suad Al Amiry (Palestine)

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In numbers

1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:

  • 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
  • 150 tonnes to landfill
  • 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal

800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal

Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year

25 staff on site

 

Know your Camel lingo

The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home

Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless

Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers

Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s

Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival

If you go...

Etihad flies daily from Abu Dhabi to Zurich, with fares starting from Dh2,807 return. Frequent high speed trains between Zurich and Vienna make stops at St. Anton.

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
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Engine: 1.2L inline four-cylinder

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