UAE's ADNOC to build largest global refining & chemical site

UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) is planning to build the world’s largest integrated refining and chemical site in Ruwais, where it will triple production of petrochemicals to 14.4 million tonnes annually by 2025.

Speaking at the CERAWeek conference in Houston, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber laid out the oil giant’s plans to become a major global downstream player.

“We will unveil significant co-investment opportunities for all partners, ready to work alongside us at a special event this coming May, as we transform our downstream portfolio domestically and internationally,” Al Jaber said, quoted in a company statement on Wednesday.

In addition to aligning its group of companies under a single brand, he said ADNOC had opened up its upstream and downstream businesses to new partners and investors, including public and private financial institutions.

The company has also taken steps to enhance its capital structure by tapping into global capital markets for the first time, with the issuance of a $3 billion bond in November against one of its large crude oil pipelines. This was the biggest non-sovereign bond sale in the Middle East, Al Jaber said.

Moreover, ADNOC successfully floated a 10 percent stake in ADNOC Distribution on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange last year, raising AED 3.1 billion in the UAE capital’s largest IPO in a decade.