After announcing in 2018 plans to diversify the raw materials it processes, ADNOC is proceeding with successful and steady steps in its vital Ruwais project “Enhancing Flexibility of Crude Oil Refining Operations Project,” with investments 3.5 billion Dollar (12.8 billion dirhams).

The project aims to develop the capabilities of the UAE in refining industry and to enhance the role of the Ruwais complex as a major engine to accelerate industrial growth in Abu Dhabi in particular and the UAE in general.

The company stated in a statement that the project has completed the largest part (73%) of which it allows ADNOC to process the upper Zakum crude extracted from the offshore oil fields in Abu Dhabi, along with 50 different types of other raw materials, after its refining operations were mainly relied on processing Murban crude extracted from onshore fields in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi for a period of 40 years.

The Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and CEO of ADNOC and its Group of Companies, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, said: “We continue to focus on increasing the profit margin and achieving the maximum possible value from every barrel of oil produced, in parallel with the smart and responsible investment approach in various market conditions».

Al-Jaber added, “Investing in a project to enhance the flexibility of crude oil refining operations is an important step in achieving our goals to develop the Ruwais complex and transform it into a global industrial center in the field of refining and petrochemicals, and to enhance the role of (ADNOC) as a major engine to advance industrial growth and economic diversification in the UAE in the long term.

The project will contribute to increasing the value of every barrel of oil ADNOC produces and processes, by enhancing the profit margin of refining operations, in addition to making it possible to export more of Murban crude, which is of high value.

ADNOC has made significant progress in the infrastructure work of the project to enhance the flexibility of crude oil refining operations, which, upon completion in mid-2022, will allow processing up to 420,000 barrels per day of the heaviest and acidic types of crude oil, from the total refining capacity of the refinery in Ruwais that reaches To 840 thousand barrels per day.

ADNOC was able to attract large foreign investments to Ruwais and expand its partnerships in the areas of refining, fertilizers and pipeline infrastructure assets. ADNOC continues to implement its plans to expand its refining and petrochemical business in the UAE, which will witness the transformation of the Ruwais Industrial Complex into a chemical and petrochemical complex that is able to compete globally.

ADNOC Refining produces more than 40 million tons annually of high-value refined products for markets around the world, as it refines up to 922,000 barrels per day of crude oil and condensates in various products that include liquefied petroleum gas, naphtha, gasoline, and jet fuel and gas oil, essential oils, fuel oil, and other raw materials used in the petrochemical industry such as propylene. The company also produces specialty products such as carbon black and anode charcoal. Since 2019, ADNOC Refining has been operating as a joint venture between ADNOC and the European energy companies Eni and OMV.