UAE’s ADNOC signs deal with Spain’s Cepsa for new facility

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has signed a project development agreement with Spain’s Cepsa for a new linear alkylbenzene (LAB) facility in ADNOC’s Ruwais refining and petrochemicals complex.

The LAB facility, which can be used in the production of detergents, paints and cosmetics, is among a number of initiatives taken by ADNOC as looks to expand its refining and petrochemicals operations, it said in a statement on Monday.

The national oil company plans to invest $45bn over the next five years to expand its refining and petrochemicals operations, it said on Sunday.

Read: UAE’s ADNOC plans $44.9bn downstream investment

The centrepiece of ADNOC’s strategy is the Ruwais industrial complex, which ADNOC wants to turn into the largest integrated refining and petrochemicals complex in the world.

Read: UAE’s ADNOC to invest $3.1bn in Ruwais refinery upgrade

The LAB agreement follows the signing last November of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between ADNOC and Cepsa to evaluate the setting up of a LAB facility in Ruwais, ADNOC said.

After completing a feasibility study, the LAB project will now move to the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) stage, ADNOC said.

“The LAB manufacturing facility will be fully integrated within the ADNOC refining complex, taking feedstocks of kerosene and benzene and benefiting from the suite of utilities and services of the Ruwais complex,” ADNOC said.

“The facility is expected to have a production capacity of 150,000 tons per year of LAB upon completion.”

Striving to become a global player in the downstream sector, the state oil giant wants to double its refining capacity and triple petrochemicals output potential by 2025 as it looks to capture new growth markets, ADNOC’s Chief Executive Sultan al-Jaber told Reuters in an interview on Saturday.

Read: UAE’s ADNOC signs $1.5bn offshore concession deal with Spain’s Cepsa

ADNOC plans to expand refining and petrochemical operations at Ruwais by adding a third refinery to boost capacity by 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) by 2025, lifting total refining potential to 1.5 million bpd.