ADNOC hires Samsung for Ruwais upgrade

ADNOC has awarded deals worth more than USD 3.5 billion to Samsung Engineering, the Abu Dhabi NOC announced on Monday.

The South Korean company will upgrade Ruwais refinery to process heavier crudes, a job worth USD 3.1 billion, and work on a separate power and water recovery project at the facility on a USD 473-million contract.

“ADNOC has a long and successful history of working with Korean companies as partners in our concession areas, as contractors for our major projects, and as a customer of our crude oil and refined products. The award of two major engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts reinforces the strong business relationship that exists between the UAE and Korea,” said Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE minister of state and ADNOC Group CEO.

Part of the rationale for the refinery upgrade, initially announced by ANDOC in February, is to free up lighter and more expensive Murban crude for sales abroad, processing instead medium sour crude such as Upper Zakum. The project is to be executed by the end of 2022.