EXCLUSIVE: Abu Dhabi petrochemical contract award delayed

05 March 2018
Bids were submitted in October 2017

The award of a contract to add two bagging lines to Abu Dhabi Polymers Company’s (Borouge) pelletising plant at Ruwais has been significantly delayed.

Bids were submitted in October 2017.

“We’ve been waiting quite a long time for the award to be announced,” one industry source says.

“As we understand it, Adnoc is waiting for the in-country value scores. We hope that the contract will be awarded quickly once these are in place.”

Borouge is a joint venture of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Austria’s Borealis.

Earlier this month, Adnoc announced that it was implementing an in-country value programme in support of the UAE’s private sector.

According to Adnoc, the strategy “seeks to stimulate private sector partnerships and opportunities resulting from Adnoc’s 2030 growth strategy, catalyse socio-economic development, improve knowledge transfer and create additional employment for UAE nationals.”

It is hoped the programme will support local businesses, increase economic diversification and boost economic growth.

The delayed contract is estimated to be worth $150m.

The project consists of adding two bagging lines in order to extend an existing facility at a pelletising plant that forms part of Borouge’s integrated polyolefins complex in Ruwais, the largest facility of its kind in the world.

The plant’s annual production capacity is 4.5 million tonnes and it produces:

  • 2,300,000 tonnes of polyethylene a year
  • 1,760,000 tonnes of polypropylene a year
  • 350,000 tonnes of low-density polyethylene a year, supporting a cross-linkable polyethylene (XLPE) compounding facility

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