On the occasion of the visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of His Excellency Moon Jae-in, President of the Republic of Korea, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announced, today, the signing of two major contracts between ADNOC Refining, a wholly owned subsidiary of ADNOC, and Samsung Engineering Co., Ltd, worth a total value in excess of USD 3.5 billion.
The signing of the two agreements was witnessed by H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, and H.E. Paik Ungyu, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, Republic of Korea. The agreements were signed by Abdulaziz Alhajri, ADNOC’s Downstream Director, and Choi Sung-An, CEO of Samsung Engineering.
The two contracts – the award of a USD $3.1 billion project to introduce crude oil processing flexibility and the award of a USD $473 million project to recover power and water, both at the ADNOC-owned Ruwais oil refinery – mark another significant step forwards as ADNOC accelerates the delivery of its Downstream strategy.
H.E. Dr. Al Jaber said: “ADNOC has a long and successful history of working with Korean companies as partners in our concession areas, as contractors for our major projects, and as a customer of our crude oil and refined products. The award of two major Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts reinforces the strong business relationship that exists between the UAE and Korea.
“As ADNOC continues to deliver on its 2030 smart growth strategy, a number of new and exciting opportunities exist across our value chain, particularly in the downstream, which offer the potential to deepen and develop the longstanding relationship between ADNOC and its Korean counterparts.”
H.E. Paik Ungyu said: “We offer congratulations on the signing between Samsung Engineering and ADNOC Refining. I hope that these contracts will not only enhance bilateral cooperation in the energy industry, but will also contribute to identifying new joint projects.”
The first of the two new contracts awarded by ADNOC (ADNOC Refining) to Samsung Engineering was an EPC contract for a crude oil processing flexibility project.
Scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022, this project will enable ADNOC’s Ruwais Refinery-West complex to process up to 420,000 bpd of Upper Zakum crude, or similar crude types from the market, allowing ADNOC to extract greater value from its crude resources by liberating Murban crude, which commands a higher price on global oil markets, to be utilised for export sales.
The second contract awarded, also by ADNOC Refining to Samsung Engineering, was an EPC contract for a new Waste Heat Recovery Project. This project, scheduled for completion by the end of 2023, will generate an additional 230 MW of electricity for sale and 62,400 m3 water daily by capturing waste heat, which is currently vented into the atmosphere, by upgrading four giant gas turbines with closed-cycle power generation technology. The project will play a significant role in reducing the environmental impact of ADNOC’s refining and power operations, whilst improving energy efficiency.
In line with the standard selection criteria for all EPC contracts, ADNOC Refining carefully reviewed the In-Country Value (ICV) component of all bids submitted for both of the awarded contracts. ICV was a critical consideration in the tender evaluation and contractor selection process. ADNOC’s ICV strategy seeks to stimulate private sector partnerships and opportunities resulting from ADNOC’s 2030 growth strategy, catalyze socio-economic development, improve knowledge transfer and create additional employment for UAE nationals. It reinforces the company’s commitment to supporting local businesses and their role in driving economic diversification and GDP growth.
ADNOC is making significant investments in new downstream projects to grow its refining capability and expand its petrochemical production three-fold to 14.4 mpta by 2025. Planned projects include a world scale, mixed liquid feedstock Naphtha cracker, as well as investments in new refinery capacity. As a result of the planned expansions in its Downstream business, ADNOC will create one of the world’s largest integrated refining and petrochemical complexes at Ruwais, located in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region.
ADNOC will be hosting a major Downstream Investment Forum in Abu Dhabi on the 13th and 14th May 2018, where it will unveil more details of its Downstream Strategy, including the new Ruwais industrial hub masterplan.
In the upstream, Korea’s GS Energy was awarded a 3% stake in the ADNOC Onshore concession in May 2015, while Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) and GS Energy hold a 40% stake in the Al Dhafra Petroleum concession area, where first crude oil production is expected in 2019.
Korean companies are also an important customer of ADNOC’s crude oil and refined products, including LPG, base oil, naphtha and fuel oil. Korea imports around 3 million barrels of crude oil per day, positioning it in the top 5 of global crude importing countries.
UK-based oilfield services giant Petrofac has won a $265million (£188million) contract with Petroleum Development Oman (PDO).
The work is for for the Marymul Polymer Phase 3 (MPP3) project in southern Oman, extending on-plot and off-plot production facilities.
The London-listed firm will provide engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services for the project, which is associated with around 500 producing wells, and 75 injector wells.
The firm’s managing director for EPCM, Roberto Bertocco, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded our first project within the framework agreement with PDO. This not only builds on our collective achievements and track record for EP+Cm support service delivery, but also paves the way for future success through the transfer of key people, skills and experience in our Muscat office.
“Our priorities are to mobilise our teams quickly and to ensure MPP3 is delivered with a focus on technical quality, on time and within budget. We have returned significant value to PDO through our previous project execution and we intend to take the same approach to delivery with MPP3.”
Said Al-Maktoomi from PDO said: ““MPP3 is a key project for PDO. Upon completion it will significantly expand our Enhanced Oil Recovery programme for heavy crude.
“Petrofac has already demonstrated its effectiveness as a partner to PDO and our teams will continue to work with shared goals and true collaboration as we move forward.”
Germany has approved the construction and operation of the Russia-built Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, its operator and the German maritime authority said on Tuesday.
The Nord Stream 2 operator said it expected that other four countries along the route of the undersea gas pipeline – Russia, Finland, Sweden and Denmark – will issue permits in the coming months.The “scheduled construction works are to be implemented in 2018 as planned” it added.
Germany’s maritime authority BSH said in a statement on Tuesday that it had approved the building of the 31-kilometre section that runs through its waters since it posed no danger to shipping or the environment.”
Bulgarian drug maker Sopharma said on Friday it is planning to invest 30 million levs ($18.9 million/15.3 million euro) in a new production plant in Sofia.
Construction is expected to begin in the first half of 2018, Sopharma said in an annual financial statement.The new plant will increase Sopharma's output of methylprednisolone and will create additional jobs, the company said.Sopharma’s consolidated net profit fell to 46.0 million levs in 2017, compared to 54.9 million levs in 2016.Sopharma shares last traded on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange on Thursday, closing 0.24% lower at 4.13 levs.