Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC, India’s Reliance sign up for potential JV

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) signed an agreement with India’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) to explore the development of an ethylene dichloride (EDC) facility in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi, official news agency WAM reported.

ADNOC and RIL will assess the potential development of a facility that would manufacture EDC, close to ADNOC’s integrated refining and petrochemical site in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi. The agreement also entails cementing the companies’ existing relationship to drive future collaboration in petrochemicals, a statement said.

ADNOC would bring on-ground infrastructure access and ethylene to the potential joint venture (JV) while RIL will bring operational expertise and entry to the Indian vinyls market. EDC is a basic component required to develop PVC, a polymer product, used in housing and agriculture sectors, the statement said.

PVC demand is increasing globally, and is expected to soar in the Indian vinyls market, the statement said.

“We look forward to working closely with RIL to identify opportunities to capitalise on the strengths of the Ruwais ecosystem, while delivering a compelling new commercial platform for satisfying the large Indian PVC market, as well as demand for other fast-growing segments in the region,” said Abdulaziz Alhajri, executive director of ADNOC’s downstream directorate.

Nikhil Meswani, RIL executive director, said, “This is a significant step towards Reliance’s commitment to pursue backward integration and will pave the way for enhancing PVC capacity in India to cater to the fast-growing domestic market.”

“This co-operation ideally combines advantaged feedstock and energy from the UAE with Reliance’s execution capabilities and the growing Indian market.”

ADNOC’s investment in downstream will underpin its 2030 strategy, backed by a $45bn investment, to create a more flexible, resilient and diverse energy business, the statement said.

In Q2 2018, the company shared its intent to invest Dhs165bn ($44.9bn) along with its partners over five years to expand its downstream operations.

Read more: UAE’s ADNOC plans $44.9bn downstream investment

Additionally, last month, ADNOC announced plans to upgrade its Bab onshore field via a Dhs1.8bn($489m) investment to back its long-term oil production capabilities, a statement said.

Read: Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC invests Dhs1.8bn to upgrade its Bab onshore field