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Ruwais: efficient refining in the United Arab Emirates

In 2018 we started a new phase of growth in the refining sector with the acquisition of 20% of the refining assets of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

Ruwais boosts our refining capacity

Our successful positioning in the Downstream oil sector over recent years is thanks to technological innovation, which has enabled us to relaunch structurally weak production sites, reducing exposure to volatile oil costs. The Ruwais complex is fourth in the world in terms of production capacity and guarantees a high level of conversion. The refinery gives us access to one of the leading market opportunities for expansion in terms of efficiency and profitability. The acquisition of Ruwais is also part of our strategy to geographically diversify our overall portfolio and make it increasingly balanced across the value chain. It enables us, for example, to increase our refining capacity by around 35 per cent and significantly improve our forward-looking profitability. This, in turn, means that from 2020 we can reduce the breakeven margin from $3 per barrel to $2.7 per barrel, and down to $1.5 per barrel on completion of the refinery upgrade, bringing the conversion capacity to around 1.1 million barrels per day by 2023.

 

Production that focuses on efficiency: photo gallery

The Ruwais plant is the fourth best in the world in terms of production capacity. Thanks to its use of the best available technologies and a very high conversion flow sheet, it guarantees an excellent level of conversion.

Safety first

Safety in the workplace is an imperative value we want to share with our employees, contractors and local stakeholders. We are committed to eliminate accidents and protect the integrity of our assets. We consolidate a culture of safety through management and organization models, digital tools and communication initiatives. Our goal is strengthening the awareness of our people and their sense of responsibility toward themselves and others, by expanding HSE tools and digitalization to make corporate processes safer, more efficient and faster. 

Technologies

The Ruwais refining complex is equipped with the best technology available and has already demonstrated a resilient refining margin. It benefits from important competitive advantages in terms of integration, economies of scale, plant complexity, efficiency and proximity to Upstream fields (which supply crude oil and natural gas), and lies at the fulcrum of Eastern and Western markets.

There is already a development plan in place to increase competitiveness and the ability to generate profits by increasing flexibility in the selection of processable crudes and through energy efficiency. We will contribute to the technological development of the plants, having already gained extensive experience in the management of the processes used by ADNOC Refining in European refineries, such as fluidised-bed catalytic cracking, hydrocracking, conversion and desulphurisation of residues, coking and other optimisations to maximise the margin of refined barrels.