ABU DHABI - The Ruwais Refinery.

ADNOC decided to build a second refinery in 1977, one year after the old Umm Al Nar plant was completed, because of rapid growth in demand for oil products. A contract was awarded that year to Snamprogetti to build the plant at Ruwais, 250 km east of Abu Dhabi and close to the Jebel Dhanna oil terminal, with a capacity of 120,000 b/d. Work was completed in early 1981 and the plant went on stream by June that year.

In January 1995 the Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC), in charge of the entire petroleum sector, approved a project to raise the refinery's capacity to 535,000 b/d at a cost of up to $2 bn. ADNOC later decided to limit the refinery's expansion to 400,000 b/d, by adding two 140,000 b/d condensate splitters, which were only to cost the company about $800m. It decided to delay the installation of a 135,000 b/d crude oil distillation unit and a number of upgrading facilities that were to cost over $1.2 bn. But the oil refinery now can run at 425,000 b/d.

The contract for the two identical 140,000 b/d condensate units was awarded in early August 1997 to Snamprogetti on a turnkey basis, with NPCC as sub-contractor. The first of the twin splitters came on stream in early June 2000. Train-2 came on stream in mid-September 2000 - two months later than expected because there was not enough condensate in production. Both plants began full production on Nov. 20, 2000.

The two splitters have the capacity to produce 50% full-range naphtha (almost 80% paraffinic), 30% jet fuel and kerosine, 15% gasoil, and 5% LPG and residue. The splitters have an 11,000 b/d LPG amine sweetening plant, two 46,500 b/d naphtha stabilisation units, and two 52,000 b/d kerosine sweetening units. Their support structures include 23 floating roof storage tanks, product blending units and shipping facilities. Asia, notably including Japan and South Korea, is the main market for the two splitters.

The two trains' capacity is to be raised by 20% under a $50-60m project for which Snamprogetti has done the process study. Expansion will be done through debottlenecking of the two units later this year. The onshore condensate production systems now have a combined capacity of 281,000 b/d. These consist of the following streams: 131,000 b/d from Thamama OGD-1; 95,000 b/d from Asab AGD; and 55,000 b/d from OGD-2 which went on stream in September 2000. But actual production exceeds 320,000 b/d. The integrated OGD-3 and AGD-2 programme will by end-2007 raise condensate production considerably (see Oil & Gas Market Trends of this week).

The 81,000 b/d ULG/LSGO plant to be on stream in June 2005 at Ruwais will include two continuous catalytic converters each of 120,000 b/d, heavy/light naphtha hydrotreaters with a combined capacity of 31,700 b/d, a 15,000 b/d gas/oil hydrotreater, a sulphur plant and utilities.

CBI Eastern Anstalt, a unit of Chicago Bridge & Iron of the US, is building a related tankage system at the Ruwais refining complex. This is the first phase of Takreer's ULG/LSGO project, the second phase being built at Umm Al Nar (see above).

These green products will be in line with a worldwide trend to market transportation fuels with improved quality specifications. Commercial production and export of these fuels is anticipated during the third quarter of 2005. The green diesel will have a much reduced sulphur content at 10 parts per million (ppm) by weight. Additional improvements in other qualities such as distillation boiling range, flow properties, cetane number and aromatics content will be brought about through installation of new facilities. The new facilities will include revamp of the existing gas oil hydrotreater.

For Ruwais, there is another project which will include a new diesel hydrotreater and a new process unit with associated requirements that incorporate the latest technology to produce a more enhanced quality required for green diesel. The FEED phase for the "Green Diesel Project" will be launched this year. The new facilities are anticipated to be in production by 2010. The project calls for construction of a 37,000 b/d mild hydrocracker and a 42,000 b/d sulphur hydrocracker and revamping of the existing gas/oil hydrotreater at Ruwais. The Italian office of Technip has done the feasibility study.

After phasing out leaded gasoline in the UAE in 2003, the federal authorities now want to introduce green diesel. This was announced last October by Dr Sa'd Al Numairi, Environmental Adviser at the Federal Environmental Agency (FEA) in Dubai, who said: "Our target is to reduce to the minimum the amount of sulphur in diesel sold and used in the country".

In the UAE, about 10% of vehicles, mostly trucks and heavy equipment, use diesel. Dr. Numairi said: "If we can reduce the sulphur from diesel to the minimum with better refining technology, technical standards and law-enforcement, it would be better for all of us". Under a "National Environmental Strategy" prepared by a group led by Dr Numairi, sulphur emissions have recently been reduced to around 5,000 ppm. The aim is that, by end-2005 this should be reduced to 2,500 ppm; and by 2010, the federation's diesel's emissions will be cut to around 50 ppm. A technical committee under the FEA finalised in July 2004 the specifications for low sulphur diesel.

Many Western countries have mandated low sulphur diesel, also known as city diesel, which contains less than 0.005% of sulphur. It is now obligatory in Sweden, the UK, Denmark and continental Europe. Canada has ruled on-road diesel fuel must not contain more than 15 ppm sulphur by June 1, 2006.

Takreer is preparing to tender the two-year FEED contract. Seven international companies have responded to the initial query: Foster Wheeler, Howe Baker, Shaw Group, Parsons International, Mustang Engineering, Fluor Daniel and Technip. The second contract is the PMC, with Parsons, Foster Wheeler, Mustang and VECO having responded to the initial query.

Takreer is studying two other major projects: expansion of the sulphur handling terminal at Ruwais by 2,000 t/d to 8,000 t/d, with expressions of interest to be issued by end-January for the FEED work and PMC; and a world-scale aromatics complex for the production of paraxylene through naphtha reforming.

In addition, new units at the Ruwais complex are to include a $400m plant to produce 300,000 t/y of lube and base oils from 2005, with Bechtel having done the feasibility study. A 50-t/d sulphur recovery unit is being installed to replace an older one. Expansions will eventually include a rise in the output of coke, needed for an aluminium smelter to be built in Oman with 40% equity in this to be held by the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (see DT No. 1).

The capacity of the hydrocracker at Ruwais has been raised to about 73,000 b/d from 27,000 b/d and a 36,000 b/d vis-breaker has been installed as well. An advanced management information system has been set up at Takreer's head office, linking it by network with the refineries. Production management systems and sophisticated process control systems have been installed (see background in Vol. 60, No. 2).

Inter-Refineries P/L: Bid are to be received by Jan. 29 for the EPC contract to build a $400m inter-refineries pipeline (IRP) for Takreer. The bidders are Willbros Group, Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I), Dodsal, NPCC and the German office of Technip. The project is divided into two main parts. The pipeline element includes supply and installation of: a 203-km multi-products pipeline from Ruwais to Mussafah; a 230-km gasoil pipeline and a 230-kilometre naphtha and jet fuel pipeline from Umm Al-Nar to Ruwais; and other related facilities. The terminal element centres on construction of pump houses at Ruwais and Umm Al-Nar and construction of at least 10 storage tanks, slop tanks and new road tanker loading facilities. Tebodin is the PMC. Engineers India (EIL) is doing the FEED work.

ADNOC's main markets for oil products are Japan and the Indian sub-continent. India and Pakistan buy up 45% of its exports and 60% of its gasoil sales.