meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Adnoc spurs downstream gas expansions

13 October 2023

This package on the UAE’s downstream sector also includes: 

> Adnoc Gas picks site for planned LNG terminal
> Adnoc Gas receives prices for Estidama package
> Adnoc and Dusup sign key gas supply agreement
> Adnoc receives bids for gas pipeline packages
> Adnoc receives prices for sales gas pipeline packages
> Adnoc Gas awards $3.6bn Project Meram contract

 

Demand for natural gas has risen exponentially in this decade, with its share in the global energy mix set to grow further in the decades to come.

Regional energy producers are deploying major capital expenditure programmes to increase their gas production and processing capabilities to cater to growing demand.

The UAE is striving to achieve self-sufficiency in gas production by 2030. With this objective in mind, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has committed significant investment towards expanding its midstream and downstream gas capabilities.

These projects seek to increase the availability of gas for utility providers and industrial customers in the UAE and ramp up ethane output to grow the country’s petrochemical sector and its derivatives ecosystem.

Hail and Ghasha galvanises UAE upstream market

Ruwais LNG project

Adnoc Gas, the gas processing business of Adnoc, has finalised the location for its planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal. The facility will have the capacity to produce about 9.6 million tonnes a year (t/y) of LNG from two processing trains, each with a capacity of 4.8 million t/y.

The overall value of the planned project is estimated to be upwards of $4.5bn, based on capital expenditure by operators on similar schemes worldwide.

Adnoc Gas received technical bids from contractors in May for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on the project, which will be built in Ruwais Industrial City in Abu Dhabi’s Al-Dhafrah region.

Adnoc Gas had originally planned to build the LNG terminal in the UAE emirate of Fujairah, which sits outside the Strait of Hormuz on the coast of the Gulf of Oman. In early May, however, the company announced it was shifting the location of the project from Fujairah to Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.

Sales gas pipeline network

Adnoc Gas is progressing the Estidama project, which is crucial to enhancing Adnoc’s sales gas pipeline network across the UAE. The project aims to cater to rising demand for gas from industrial consumers across the UAE, particularly in the Northern Emirates.

Contractors submitted commercial bids in August for combined package numbers 4 and 7. The combined package involves laying a new pipeline from the Al-Shuwaib pig launcher and pig receiver station to the Sajaa gas facility in Sharjah.

The scope also covers building a new gas pipeline between BVS-2/KP28.7 in Abu Dhabi to Dubai’s Margham gas facility to meet increased gas demand from Adnoc Gas’ customer Dubai Supply Authority (Dusup).

EPC works on the estimated $2bn-plus Estidama project have been divided into seven packages. Abu Dhabi-based contractor Integrated Specialised General Contracting Company (Iscco) won package 1, understood to have a contract value of $18m, in December 2021.

In early July, Adnoc Gas awarded contracts worth a combined $1.34bn for two other packages of the Estidama project. UK-headquartered Petrofac was awarded the EPC contract for package 2 of the Estidama project, estimated to be worth $720m.

A consortium of Abu Dhabi’s National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) and Lebanon-headquartered CAT Group won Estidama package 3, which is valued at about $630m.

Contractors submitted technical bids for package 6 in August 2022 and commercial bids by 21 November. Work on package 6 entails the installation of a 52-inch, 74-kilometre pipeline from Sweihan to Al-Shuwaib in Abu Dhabi and building two block valve stations.

Package 5 is expected to be tendered separately to contractors as part of a planned second phase of the sales gas pipeline upgrade project.

As per the original project schedule, EPC works on the Estidama project are due to be completed in 2025.

Ramping up ethane output

Adnoc Gas is in charge of one of the world’s largest gas processing complexes in Abu Dhabi, with the capacity to process about 8 billion cubic feet a day from its Asab, Bab, Bu Hasa, Habshan and Ruwais plants.

Increased volumes of ethane production will allow the company to commercialise it to supply feedstock to Borouge for its under-construction Borouge 4 petrochemicals complex, as well as to derivatives plants in the upcoming Taziz complex. Adnoc Gas intends to achieve this through the Maximise Ethane Recovery & Monetisation (Meram) project.

Adnoc Gas awarded a $3.6bn contract for Project Meram to a consortium of NPCC and Spanish contractor Tecnicas Reunidas in early August, with EPC work on the project starting later that month. The scope of work on the contract includes commissioning new gas processing facilities to enable an optimised supply to the Ruwais industrial complex, Adnoc Group said.

The strategic Meram project aims to achieve dual objectives, Adnoc stated.

The first goal is to increase ethane extraction by 35 to 40 per cent from Adnoc Gas’ existing onshore facilities in the Habshan gas processing complex by constructing new gas processing facilities.

The second goal is to unlock further value from existing feedstock and deliver it to Ruwais via a 120km natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline.

LATEST NEWS FROM THE UAE's CHEMICALS SECTOR:
> Lummus seeks to expand Abu Dhabi office
> Firms express interest for Abu Dhabi methanol project
> Borouge and Borealis launch recycled products range
> Fertiglobe makes $84m profit in second quarter
> Borouge announces $231m profit in second quarter
> Adnoc opens formal chemicals integration talks with OMV

Taziz chemicals complex

Meanwhile, investors in the Taziz petrochemicals derivatives-producing industrial complex in Ruwais are pushing ahead with their projects.

Taziz – a 60:40 joint venture (JV) of Adnoc and Abu Dhabi’s industrial holding company ADQ – is overseeing the development of the sprawling industrial complex, which will mainly draw ethylene feedstock from the Borouge 4 facility to produce several in-demand chemicals.

A JV of UAE-based Fertiglobe, South Korea’s GS Energy and Japanese investment firm Mitsui awarded Italian contractor Tecnimont the main EPC contract for its planned blue ammonia project in the Taziz Industrial Chemicals Zone in February.

The JV has appointed KBR to provide the technology licence, basic engineering design, proprietary equipment and catalyst for the low-carbon ammonia plant, which will have a capacity of 1 million t/y.

India’s Reliance Industries is also an investor in the Taziz complex, having forged a partnership with Taziz and Abu Dhabi-based Shaheen Chem Holdings Investment to invest $2bn in developing three chemical plants producing chlor-alkali (940,000 t/y), ethylene dichloride (1.1 million t/y) and polyvinyl chloride (360,000 t/y).

Switzerland-based Proman has committed to building the UAE’s first methanol plant at Taziz, with a planned production capacity of 1.8 million t/y. The Proman-Taziz JV completed the contractor prequalification process for the EPC tendering round for the methanol production project in August. The operator is expected to issue the main EPC tender later this year.

As projects in the first phase of the chemicals complex move forward, Taziz is also understood to be gearing up for a second phase to more than double the number of chemicals produced at the derivatives hub.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11214144/main.jpg
Indrajit Sen

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Egypt signs $420m Gabal El-Zeit wind agreements

    10 June 2026

    Egypt has signed agreements worth $420m for the investment, operation and power purchase of the 580MW Gabal El-Zeit wind power complex in the Red Sea region.

    Gabal El-Zeit 1 has a capacity of 240MW, while Gabal El-Zeit 2 and 3 have capacities of 220MW and 120MW, respectively.

    The agreements were signed between Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA), the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) and Dubai-based Alcazar Energy.

    Under the agreements, Alcazar Energy will invest in, operate and manage the farms through a project company established under Egyptian law.

    The company will be responsible for technical operations, maintenance and efficiency upgrades while maintaining a minimum capacity of 580MW throughout the contract period.

    The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company will purchase the electricity generated by the plant.

    The agreements follow earlier efforts to privatise the Gabal El-Zeit wind complex, involving a deal with UK-headquartered private equity firm Actis.

    According to the Egyptian government, the project supports the country’s state ownership policy and national energy strategy, which aim to increase the share of renewable energy in the electricity mix to 45%.

    The Gabal El-Zeit area on Egypt’s Red Sea coast is one of the country’s most established wind power development zones. The latest Gabal El-Zeit wind farm was completed in 2014, according to MEED Projects data. Germany’s Siemens Gamesa was the main contractor. 

    > Be recognised among the best in the industry at the MEED Projects Awards 2026 …

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17170360/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Majid Al-Futtaim awards $545m Ghaf Woods contract to ECC

    10 June 2026

    Majid Al-Futtaim Properties has appointed Engineering Contracting Company (ECC) as the main contractor for the Capria East, Capria West and Maravelle Residences developments at its Ghaf Woods community in Dubai, in a deal valued at AED2bn ($545m).

    The contract covers the construction of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and duplex residences across the two Capria clusters.

    The award adds to a series of major construction contracts Majid Al-Futtaim has issued across its Dubai communities in recent years.

    In May, local contractor Al-Sahel Contracting was awarded a AED700m contract for the Distrikt development, also at Ghaf Woods.

    In 2024, Majid Al-Futtaim awarded AED3bn in contracts for its Tilal Al-Ghaf community, appointing Innovo Build to build 94 waterfront villas at Elysian Mansions and United Engineering Construction (Unec) to deliver 130 villas at the Alaya development.

    > Be recognised among the best in the industry at the MEED Projects Awards 2026 …

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17170744/main.jpg
    Colin Foreman
  • Saudi Arabia and Turkiye sign railway agreements

    10 June 2026

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Saudi Arabia and Turkiye have signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the railway and logistics sectors, advancing Riyadh’s ambitions to become a global logistics hub.

    Transport and Logistics Services Minister Saleh Al-Jasser and Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu signed the agreements at the ministry’s headquarters in Riyadh on 9 June, following ministerial talks held with a high-level Turkish delegation. Transport General Authority president Fawaz Al-Sahli and officials from the kingdom’s transport and logistics sector were also present.

    Agreement scope

    The first MoU covers logistics services and operations, including the exchange of expertise, policies and regulations. The second focuses on railway technologies, signalling and communication systems, railway digitalisation, human capacity development, the localisation of the railway industry and measures to reduce the sector’s environmental impact.

    More broadly, the agreements cover cooperation on railway standards and related innovations, the exchange of expertise on the design, operation and maintenance of rail projects, and engineering, infrastructure and safety standards.

    The two sides will also cooperate on research and development, with provision for joint workforce training through specialist railway academies.

    Riyadh said the agreements will help support its National Strategy for Transport and Logistics Services and Saudi Vision 2030, which seeks to position the kingdom as a logistics bridge connecting three continents.

    Turkish projects

    Turkish contractors have already established themselves as key players in the region’s rail sector. In 2012, Yapi Merkezi secured a $2.1bn contract for work on the Haramain high-speed rail network in Saudi Arabia, while Turkish firms Mapa and Limak are leading the ongoing civil works on Dubai’s $5.5bn Metro Blue Line project as part of a China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) consortium. Turkish consultancy Proyapi Muhendislik ve Musavirlik Anonim Sirketi has also won design contracts for the 111km Kuwait National Rail Road project.

    The agreements signed by Saudi Arabia and Turkiye may also give momentum to longstanding discussions around a rail corridor linking the GCC with Turkiye. The route, which has been discussed for years, has gained renewed impetus in recent months as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has pushed regional governments to accelerate the development of overland trade alternatives.

    READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17169958/main.gif
    Colin Foreman
  • Joint venture tenders Algeria field development contract

    10 June 2026

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Hassi Bir Rekaiz Group (GHBR), which operates Algeria’s Hassi Bir Rekaiz field, has issued a tender for phase 2A of the asset’s field development project.

    GHBR is a joint venture of Algeria’s national oil and gas company Sonatrach and Thailand’s national exploration and production company PTTEP.

    The scope of the contract focuses on the “provision of engineering and supervision services”, according to documents published by Sonatrach.

    The tender has been issued with a bid deadline of 16 June 2026.

    In May, GHBR signed a $1.1bn contract for phase two of the Hassi Bir Rekaiz development project.

    The contract was won by a consortium of Egypt’s Petrojet and Italian engineering and contracting company Arkad.

    Petrojet’s portion of the project was estimated to be worth around $600m, and Arkad’s portion was estimated to be worth $500m.

    The contract used the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning model.

    The scope of the project contract is focused on the construction of a central processing facility (CPF) capable of processing crude oil and associated gas.

    It also includes developing off-plot pipelines, as well as related utilities and infrastructure.

    The CPF will have the capacity to process 32,000 barrels a day (b/d) and will be designed to support future expansions.

    The related infrastructure will include an extensive pipeline network spanning approximately 217 kilometres, as well as a road network.

    READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17163750/main3325.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Algeria extends deadline for urea-formaldehyde project

    10 June 2026

     

    Algeria’s national oil and gas company Sonatrach has extended the bid deadline for a project to develop a new concentrated urea-formaldehyde unit in its Arzew industrial zone.

    The latest bid deadline is 15 June.  

    The contract uses the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning model, and the bid deadline for technical tender submissions was originally set for early April.

    The condensed urea-formaldehyde unit will be located at the CP1-Z facility.

    The CP1-Z facility began operations in 1975 and has a capacity of 152,000 tonnes a year. It produces products including methanol, resin and formol.

    It is a two-phase tender. The first phase is a technical bid submission, and the second phase is a commercial bid submission.

    To be eligible to win this contract, companies must specialise in petrochemical industrial installation projects.

    They also need to have a share capital of at least $7m and more than 15 years of relevant experience.

    The new unit, UFC85, will have the capacity to produce 40,000 metric tonnes of concentrated and condensed urea-formaldehyde annually.

    The project’s scope also includes the development of auxiliary equipment and installations.

    Urea-formaldehyde has a wide range of uses, including the production of laminates, textiles and paper.

    In the wood industry, it is used as a thermosetting adhesive to bond wood to create plywood and particleboard. In agriculture, urea-formaldehyde is widely used as a slow-release fertiliser.

    READ THE JUNE 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    GCC looks beyond the Strait; Iraq’s reform window narrows as fiscal assumptions shatter; MEED Top 100 companies.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the June 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17163657/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp