Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC to invest $3.1bn to upgrade Ruwais refinery

LONDON (ICIS)–Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) will be investing $3.1bn to upgrade its Ruwais refinery, it said on Wednesday.

The upgrade, to be completed by the end of 2022, involves the addition of an atmospheric residue de-sulphurisation (ARDS) unit, enabling the refinery to process up to 420,000 bbl/day of Upper Zakum crude, or similar crude types from the market – thus liberating Murban crude, which commands a higher price on global oil markets, to be utilised for export sales, the company said.

“Enabling the Ruwais Refinery-West to process Upper Zakum, or similar, medium sour crude, in place of Murban light sweet crude, will allow us to extract greater value from our crude resources,” said Abdulaziz Abdulla Alhajri, director of ADNOC’s downstream directorate.

“It will mean we can maximise the benefit of price differentials to enhance refinery margins, improve the middle distillate products and release valuable Murban crude into the market,” he added.