ADNOC Unveils Plan for World’s Biggest Refinery, Chemicals Site

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has announced its intention to move further downstream, as the company pivots to take advantage of the rising demand for higher value refined and petrochemical products, particularly in China and Asia.

Speaking at CERAWeek, a gathering of the energy industry, Dr Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, set out ADNOC’s strategic ambitions to become a major global downstream player.

At the centre of its new downstream strategy, ADNOC intends to create the world’s largest integrated refining and chemical site in the world where it will triple petrochemicals’ production to 14.4 million tonnes, annually, by 2025, state news agency WAM reported.

Al Jaber also announced plans to host a Downstream Investment Forum in Abu Dhabi in May, where ADNOC will unveil significant co-investment opportunities to strengthen and grow its downstream portfolio.

“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,” he said.

Al Jaber added that ADNOC’s downstream strategy will build on the progress it had made in 2017, as it accelerated its transformation and sharpened its focus on its strategic pillars of people, performance, profitability and efficiency.

“The steps we have taken so far have laid a solid foundation for powering the next phase of our growth. And the biggest opportunity for that growth is downstream, particularly in petrochemicals, where demand is expected to climb 150 percent by 2040, driven by the growth economies of Asia,” he said.

In support of ADNOC’s upstream expansion strategy, Al Jaber also said that a series of new blocks are to be made available for commercially competitive bidding for both existing and new partners to unlock untapped resources in one of the world’s largest hydrocarbon super-basins.