Enoc plans expansion in UAE and Saudi Arabia

The fuel retailer Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) is planning more petrol stations in the UAE and Saudi Arabia to meet rising demand for fuel, the Dubai-based company said on Sunday.

Enoc will raise its capacity by 40 per cent between this year and 2020 in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, the company said in a statement.

With 112 stations in the UAE, Enoc will renovate two stations and build 54 more in Dubai as part of the expansion plan.

The company did not say how much the new stations would cost.

"We are looking at an increased growth over the next few years as Enoc expands and aims to be an international integrated oil and gas player," said Burhan Al Hashemi, the managing dir­ector of Enoc Retail.

In Saudi Arabia, the company plans to add 11 stations this year to the current three.

The Abu Dhabi-based fuel retailer Adnoc Distribution is also expanding in the UAE.

Adnoc will have about 507 stations by next year, including new additions, ­acqui­sitions and transfer of ­ownership of petrol stations, its chief executive, Abdulla Al Dhaheri, said in November.

Adnoc is to add 125 stations to its current 385 and plans to take over 59 petrol stations in Dubai and other assets around the country as part of the second phase of ­acquisitions from the fuel retailer Emarat.

In the first phase, Adnoc took over 75 petrol stations run by Emarat in Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman, Umm Al Qawain and Fujairah, following an agreement signed with Emarat in September 2013.

Demand for fuel is rising by about 7 per cent per year.

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