Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) has confirmed that it has signed an annual contract with Qatars International Petroleum Marketing Company to buy 20,000 barrels per day of condensate
The Dubai-based government-owned ENOC was the biggest buyer of Iranian condensate in the Middle East in 2012, with average imports rising by about 20 per cent to more than 130,000 bpd in the first half of last year.
ENOC has been refining the condensate at Dubai's 120,000 bpd Jebel Ali refinery to provide the city's two million population with subsidised fuel at US$0.47 a litre.
Saeed Khoory, CEO, ENOC, said, "We are committed to identifying new sources of condensate for the optimal operations of our refinery," adding that they were looking to diversify their suppliers.
"We are looking to strengthen the volume of spot cargoes from third party suppliers in the Gulf region and the Far East to manage our import pipeline in line with governmental guidance," Khoory added.
The company said that one of the challenges in managing the crude imports was the availability of alternate grades in required volumes and prices. It now aimed to cut imports from Iran of extra light oil.
