Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the United Arab Emirate’s oil giant, recently announced at an industry conference its plan to develop the downstream sector. Enhancing the downstream sector is part of a strategy, which the UAE shares with the other Countries in the area, above all Saudi Arabia. The strategy is designed to maximize the value of each barrel of oil. The plan, said ADNOC Group CEO and Minister of State, Sultan al-Jaber, entails an investment of $45 bn over the next five years, most of which will be allocated to transforming the Al Ruwais refining plant into the single largest integrated refining and petrochemical complex in the world.
The development plan comprises the building of a new oil refinery with a capacity of 600,000 bpd, which will bring today’s current refining capacity of 922,000 bpd to 1.5 million bpd by 2025. As a result, the capability of refining operations will increase by adding to the range of crudes that can be processed. In turn, that enables the export of increased volumes of the UAE’s high-value Murban crude. The diversification of petrochemicals will be boosted, as well as for the Group to be able to adjust to market demands: the range of petrochemical products will be increased from today’s 6, notably ethylene, propylene, ammonia, polyethylene, polypropylene and urea, to 23, including benzene, toluene, xylene, elastomers, epoxy resins, ethanolamines, LAB, and polyalfaolefins.