Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Borealis agree deal to advance downstream projects

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Borealis have signed an agreement to advance two key projects and expand both parties’ downstream petrochemicals businesses. 

The agreement was signed by H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Group CEO of ADNOC and Mark Garrett, Borealis Chief Executive.

Earlier this month, ADNOC announced the expansion of its strategic partnership model to span the Group's entire value chain as well as the more active management of its portfolio of assets.

Under the agreement, ADNOC and Borealis will move to the pre-feed (front end engineering and design) stage for the construction of the Borouge 4 complex, which encompasses a world-scale, mixed feedstock cracker, using existing feedstock available in Abu Dhabi and downstream derivatives units for both polyolefin and non-polyolefin products.

The proposed Borouge 4 complex is slated to come on stream around 2023 and will be integrated with ADNOC's Takreer refinery.

Simultaneously, the companies have agreed to commence engineering, procurement and construction tendering for an additional polypropylene plant (PP5) based on Borealis proprietary Borstar technology.

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The plant, to be integrated with the existing Borouge 3 complex, will add value to the surplus propylene available from Takreer's new Propane DeHydrogenation (PDH) unit, producing around 0.5 million tonnes per annum of polypropylene.

H.E. Dr Sultan Jaber, Group CEO of ADNOC, said: “We are committed to realising downstream growth and stretching the value from every barrel of oil we produce. Today's agreement with Borealis marks an important milestone in two key projects that support our smart growth and partnership strategy."

“ADNOC is determined to work with like-minded partners, such as Borealis, as we deliver on our 2030 strategy and unlock and create long-term, sustainable value for the UAE.

“The Borouge 4 complex and polypropylene plant will allow us to grow our current petrochemical production to almost 10 million tonnes per year, enabling us to take advantage of the market opportunities we have identified, particularly in Asia, where the high-grade polymer market is set to double by 2040.”

The Borouge joint venture was established in 1998 and production has progressively ramped up with the consecutive completions of the Borouge 1, 2 and 3 complexes. Current production capacity is 4.5 million tonnes per year, following the successful start-up of Borouge 3 in 2016.

The framework agreement also identifies that ADNOC and Borealis will review the extension of their successful Borouge joint venture beyond its first 30-year lifetime.

As part of its 2030 strategy, ADNOC aims to expand petrochemical production from 4.5 to 11.4 million tonnes per year by 2025