Abu Dhabi Marketing.

ADNOC's marketing unit keeps prices competitive. It monitors the market and applies the most convenient premia corresponding to the qualities of Abu Dhabi crudes. The marketing unit has good experts in pricing. The same unit handles oil products sales from Abu Dhabi's oil refineries (DT No. 2).

The ADNOC Marketing & Refining Directorate is in charge of sales to external markets of ADNOC's equity share of crude oil output, natural gas liquids and sulphur, together with the refined oil products processed by the Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Co. (TAKREER). The directorate co-ordinates the activities of TAKREER, ADNOC for Distribution (ADNOC-FOD), the Abu Dhabi National Tanker Co. (ADNATCO) and the National Gas Shipping Co. (NGSCO) - all being wholly owned units of ADNOC.

Abu Dhabi's crude oil exports consist mainly of Murban, 40.4[degrees] API with 0.8% sulphur, a distillate-rich blend produced from ADCO's onshore fields; Lower Zakum, 40.1[degrees] API with 1.1% S, produced offshore by ADMA-OPCO; Umm Shaif, 37.4[degrees] API with 1.5% S, produced offshore by ADMA-OPCO; and Upper Zakum, 33.9[degrees] API with 1.8% S produced offshore by ZADCO (see Part 2). Murban is exported from Jebel Dhanna. Zakum and UmmShaif are exported from Das Island. Upper Zakum is exported from Zirku Island. LPG is exported from the GASCO terminal at Ruwais and from Das. Liquid and granulated sulphur is exported from ADNOC facilities at Ruwais.

ADNOC on Jan. 6 cut the December OSP of Murban by $9.30/b to $42.10. The November OSP for Murban was $51.40. Murban was set at a $1.57 premium to the December average for Dubai, which stood at $40.53/b, versus a premium of $1.56 for November. The rise was the first in the premium to Dubai for seven months. ADNOC cut the OSP for Lower Zakum by $9.35 to $41.90/b. It cut Umm Shaif by $9.25 to $41.10/b. It set the Upper Zakum OSP at $38.75, down from $47.85.

India's state-run petroleum exploration company, Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) in August 2008 approved the enhancement of its parent company guarantee (PCG) with ADNOC to $300m from $200m for crude oil purchases by its refining unit Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL). Gulf News on Aug. 29 quoted an ONGC source as saying: "The increase has been necessitated by a rapid increase in global oil prices and to avoid incurring costs related to opening fresh letters of credit". For the same reason, he said ONGC approved the enhancement of its PCG with Saudi Aramco to $300m from $160m. The enhanced guarantees will be valid up to Sept. 30, 2010, from the date of issue of the PCGs. For 2008-09, MRPL preferred to source only Murban from ADNOC, despite signing a contract for Umm Shaif, Lower Zakum and Upper Zakum as well. MRPL's total term crude imports - from Iran, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi - were projected to fall to 177,200 b/d in 2008-09 from 199,800 b/d in 2007 as it cut purchases from ADNOC by 23%.

ADNOC-FOD does its own marketing for lubricants and some products locally, in the UAE and abroad. It has offices in several countries. It markets over 40,000 t/y of lubricants. ADNOC-FOD sells its products mainly in the Middle East including the GCC area, in South-East Asia and in Africa.