The Abu Dhabi refining company Takreer said on Wednesday it awarded two major contracts for its petrol and aromatics project as part of plans to boost refined-products output in the next five years.
A local subsidiary of Amec Foster Wheeler, a UK-based company, will carry out basic engineering for the project, while another award was given to France’s Axens for process licence technologies, Takreer said in a statement. The amount of the awards and the total project costs were not disclosed.
The project will add 4.2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of petrol and 1.6 mtpa of aromatics. Takreer, a unit of state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), plans to boost petrol production to 9.4 mtpa by 2022, which translates to about 217,500 barrels per day (bpd), to maximise the “full potential of our assets”, according to Abdulaziz Al Hajri, Adnoc’s refining and petrochemical director. He did not specify Adnoc’s current refining capacity.
“The gasoline [petrol] and aromatics project will enable us to meet the needs of the evolving and expanding market for refined products, as well as add value to each barrel processed,” Mr Al Hajri said.
The expansion is part of Takreer’s larger US$10 billion expansion project for its refinery in Ruwais, which is about 250 kilometres west of Abu Dhabi city, in the emirate’s Western Region.
The first major stage of that expansion came online last year when overall refining capacity doubled to 900,000 bpd and there are plans to add further capacity to handle a growing stream of crude oil from offshore, as well as to feed the much-expanded Borouge petrochemicals plant next door.
This comes after two years of volatile fuel prices, which have affected the price at the pump for UAE motorists. Petrol and diesel are by-products of crude oil and are therefore linked to the prices of the commodity.
The Ministry of Energy began liberalising prices at the pump more than 17 months ago, when petrol prices were allowed to follow the fluctuations of the oil market. Prices are established by a committee, although the formula is not publicly known.
Motorists across the country will pay more at the pump starting on Sunday as the price of Brent crude, the international benchmark, continues to move up.
Fuel prices will increase by 13.01 per cent to Dh1.91 per litre for Super 98, Special 95 will rise by 13.92 per cent to Dh1.80 and E Plus customers will pay 14.56 per cent more at Dh1.73 per litre.
However, diesel will cost Dh1.94 compared with Dh1.61 last year – an increase of more than 20 per cent.
lgraves@thenational.ae
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Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature
By Marion Rankine
Melville House
Tori Amos
Native Invader
Decca
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
Company%20Profile
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Race results:
1. Thani Al Qemzi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi: 46.44 min
2. Peter Morin (FRA) CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team: 0.91sec
3. Sami Selio (FIN) Mad-Croc Baba Racing Team: 31.43sec
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Avatar%20(2009)
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Buy farm-fresh food
The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.
In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others.
In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food.
In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra.
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
if you go
The flights
Fly to Rome with Etihad (www.etihad.ae) or Emirates (www.emirates.com) from Dh2,480 return including taxes. The flight takes six hours. Fly from Rome to Trapani with Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) from Dh420 return including taxes. The flight takes one hour 10 minutes.
The hotels
The author recommends the following hotels for this itinerary. In Trapani, Ai Lumi (www.ailumi.it); in Marsala, Viacolvento (www.viacolventomarsala.it); and in Marsala Del Vallo, the Meliaresort Dimore Storiche (www.meliaresort.it).
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