ADNOC Refining, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), has completed the commissioning of a specialised coker unit as part of its Carbon Black and Coker Project at Ruwais refining complex in the UAE
ADNOC’s Carbon Black and Coker Project incorporates a coker, known as a ‘delayed coker,’ that will allow ADNOC Refining to recover highly specialised and valuable grades of carbon black and calcined coke.
In addition, it is expected to create higher value from what would otherwise be used for low-value fuel oil by removing the need to import costly raw materials.
The commissioning of the new coker unit coincided with the first production of Green petroleum coke in the UAE. An intermediate product, Green petroleum coke can be further processed to produce either fuel oils, or calcine petroleum coke, a raw material used by the aluminium and steel industries.
Jasem Ali Al Sayegh, CEO of ADNOC Refining, said, “The successful commissioning of the coker project, along with the production of the first Green coke created in the UAE, will improve ADNOC Refining’s margins by maximising value from every barrel of crude oil that we refine. By working with local petrochemicals and aluminium industries, and engaging new local and international customers for these high-value products, we will deliver greater value to ADNOC and more broadly to the UAE economy.”
Through the Carbon Black and Coker Project, ADNOC Refining aims to produce 40,600 tonnes of two different grades of Carbon black per year, and 430,000 tonnes of high-value anode grade calcined coke.
With this, ADNOC will extract the maximum value from ‘bottom-of-the-barrel’ heavy oils and slurry, as it delivers on its ambitious downstream strategy to become a world-class producer, supplier and trader of refined and petrochemical products, as it focuses on growth markets in Asia, including China.
ADNOC’s downstream investment programme is set to increase the company’s refining capacity by more than 65 per cent by 2025, through the addition of a third refinery, creating a total capacity of 1.5 mmbbl per day. The new refinery will significantly increase the capability, flexibility and output of Abu Dhabi’s refining operations by adding to the range of crudes that can be processed.
