Abu Dhabi has moved forward on a multi-billion-dollar expansion of the Borouge petrochemicals complex at Ruwais which is aimed at increasing both the variety and volume of products it can produce.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc) and Vienna-based Borealis, which shares ownership of Borouge 60/40, said on Sunday that they had approved the initial stage of the fourth major expansion at the plant, known as Borouge 4, which it expects will be completed by 2023 and will be integrated with Adnoc's adjacent oil refining complex.
The partners also agreed to hire contractors to build an additional polypropylene plant - dubbed PP5 - to integrate with the third expansion phase, which ramped up to full production of about 4.5 million tonnes a year last spring.
The Borouge 4 expansion would more than double output at the plant and is part of an overall Abu Dhabi strategy to squeeze more dollars out of each barrel of its huge crude oil natural resource by adding refining capacity, as well as by supporting “conversion industries” that make products out of the petrochemicals raw material.
Petrochemicals generally have been a good investment for Abu Dhabi and help hedge against the impact of falling oil prices. Borouge, which has its main marketing operations in Singapore, markets its products particularly to China and other Asian markets.
“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,” said Sultan Al Jaber, the chief executive of Adnoc.
The start-up of the cross-linked polyethylene plant in spring last year was the final piece of the US$4bn “Borouge 3” plant expansion project, which itself more than doubled overall capacity to 4.5 million tonnes a year, making it the world’s largest integrated polyolefins complex.
Borouge 4 would not only more than double capacity, the expansion would use oil-derivative feedstock, naptha, instead of the ethane-based feedstock in the existing plant, which adds the capacity to make so-called C4 chemicals, mostly used to make products for fuel blending.
“Global demand for polyolefin products is being driven by the growth in emerging economies,” said Mark Garrett, the chief executive of Borealis, adding that the plant’s unique technology, “a world-leading product portfolio and a favourable geographic location at the pivot point between East and West, [enable it] to capitalise on the markets of steepest growth in Asia.”
The Borouge complex is adjacent to Adnoc's main oil refinery in Ruwais, located about 200 kilometres southeast of Abu Dhabi City. Its expansion was completed last year, doubling capacity to 800,000 barrels per day before a major fire there in January, which also reduced capacity at Borouge. The capacity is expected to be replaced in the first half next year.
Borealis is controlled by Abu Dhabi, with Mubadala Investment Company holding a direct 64 per cent stake, and a further share through Mubadala's 24.9 per cent stake in Austrian oil company OMV, which owns 36 per cent of Borealis.
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
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Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
COPA DEL REY
Semi-final, first leg
Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
Real Madrid (Vazquez 6')
Second leg, February 27
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RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
