ADNOC pursues $45-bln downstream plan

ADNOC struck a deal for the construction of a linear alkylbenzene unit at the Ruwais refinery and petrochemical complex on Monday, shortly after announcing that its planned downstream pivot would cost USD 45 billion.

Spain’s Cepsa will build the 150,000-tonne-per-year unit, the Abu Dhabi NOC said in a statement, without disclosing the price tag of the deal.

“The development of a new LAB facility will enable the emergence of a surfactants cluster in our new Ruwais Derivatives and Conversion Parks, diversifying the number and type of industries being developed there, leading to the creation of an expanded and advanced petrochemicals ecosystem in the UAE,” said Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE minister of state and ADNOC Group CEO.

Much of the USD 45-billion downstream plan, which the company announced at its Downstream Investment Forum on Sunday, centres on Ruwais. In March, ADNOC hired Samsung Engineering to upgrade the refinery to process heavier crudes in a project worth USD 3.1 billion and awarded it a separate USD 473-million water recovery contract at the facility.

In the future, ADNOC plans to create new petrochemicals derivatives and conversion parks at the facilities, the company statement added.