Eight UAE investors to take up to 20% stake in Adnoc's Ta’ziz projects

The local companies will invest alongside Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADQ, and other global strategic partners

The Ta’ziz Industrial Chemicals Zone in Abu Dhabi. The zone has garnered significant interest from international investors. Photo: Wam

Abu Dhabi Chemicals Derivatives Company, known as Ta’ziz, signed an agreement with eight UAE-based investors who will invest up to a 20 per cent stake in a portfolio of projects worth Dh15 billion ($4bn) in its Industrial Chemicals Zone in Ruwais.

The deal marks the first domestic public-private partnership (PPP) in Abu Dhabi’s downstream and petrochemicals sector, Adnoc said in a statement on Wednesday.

The local investors will be investing alongside Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADQ, and other global strategic partners.

The eight UAE investors include Al Dhafra Co-operative Society, Al Nasser Holdings, Alpha Dhabi Partners Holding, Arab Development Establishment, Buhairan Limited Company, Capital Investment, Mazrui International and Mazrui Energy Services and Riverside Investments.

“This equity partnership, the first public-private partnership of its kind in Abu Dhabi’s chemicals industry, highlights Adnoc’s continued commitment to deepening our contributions to local industry and pioneering new, innovative means of collaboration with the UAE’s private sector,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Adnoc managing director and group chief executive.

“Through Ta’ziz, our new domestic partners will have a stake in ongoing activities to enable additional domestic production of critical industrial raw materials, drive economic diversification and further grow the UAE’s advanced manufacturing base, supporting the ambitions outlined in the ‘Principles of the 50’ set out by our wise leadership.

“Looking ahead, we look forward to further growing a robust pipeline of investment and partnership opportunities at Ta’ziz, welcoming leading investors who are ready to partner with us on the development of a globally competitive chemicals and industrial hub.”

The Ta'ziz industrial chemicals zone has garnered significant interest from international investors, too.

Ta'ziz recently signed a deal with Reliance Industries, India's largest private petrochemicals company, to form a joint venture to develop a major chemicals project in Ruwais. Partnership agreements have also been signed with Fertiglobe, a joint venture between Adnoc and OCI, as well as with Mitsui and GS Energy for a proposed blue ammonia production facility.

Adnoc also signed an agreement with Taqa to develop a utilities project to power the industrial hub.

The Ta'ziz Industrial Chemical Zone projects are currently in the design phase, with the starting date targeted for 2025.

The recent local investor agreements follow a briefing at the Adnoc Business Centre in Abu Dhabi in September, the statement added. The event, which presented investment opportunities at Ta'ziz, was hosted in partnership with the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology.

The chemicals sector is an integral part of the UAE's Operation 300bn, which aims to raise the contribution of the country's industrial sector to its gross domestic product to Dh300bn by 2031.