Fujairah.

A second-hand 105,000 b/d refinery in Fujairah resumed operations in September 2000 at the rate of 52,000 b/d. Owned by Fujairah Refinery Co. (FRC), this is a JV between the government of Fujairah, Glencore Int'l and a group of financial institutions. PetroFac Int'l of the US operates the refinery under a contract with FRC.

The refinery was closed in February 1998 as its then owner, Metro Oil of Greece, went bankrupt with debts of almost $300m soon after a 60,000 b/d expansion was completed. Agreement to revive the venture was reached in late 1999 after the government of Fujairah intervened together with creditor companies which included Glencore and Texaco. Soon after the refinery resumed operations in September 2000, the new owners in FRC brought in a second hand merox unit from the US able to produce up to 30,000 b/d of jet fuel and kerosine. Within 90 days this could also clean up gasoil for production of value-added derivatives. A second unit, with a capacity of 38,000 b/d, started up in November 2000. A third unit to produce 18,000 b/d of naphtha was added in 2001, together with a caustic washer treatment unit, a vacuum tower and an asphalt blowing plant. FRC has been upgraded to produce at the 105,000 b/d nameplate with its product yield including gasoline.

The plant has benefited from the dredging of Fujairah port in 2000 to a depth of 15 metres, from 12.5 metres. This enabled tankers of 90,000 dwt and bulk carrier to call. FRC has built jetties for itself at the port. The plant began operating in January 1996 at 35,000 b/d. It had a 20,000 b/d vacuum unit. In October 1997, a 42,000 b/d crude and condensate distillation unit was commissioned. A further expansion to 95,000 b/d was done in the subsequent months. It produced heavy kerosine, gasoline and bunkers. The crude oil was supplied by Texaco from its production in the Divided Zone between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

ADNOC's overseas affiliate IPIC in 2005 announced a project to have a 300,000-400,000 b/d export refinery huilt in Fujairah, a bunkering centre which in April 2006 overtook Rotterdam as the world's biggest seller of heavy fuel. Its April sales averaged 12m t/y (see Gas Market Trends of this week).

Sharjah: Fal Oil Co., a private firm in Sharjah which is nearly 33 years old, bought a second-hand refinery from Petro-Canada for about $40m in 1995. Fal bought another second-hand refinery from Ultramar of Canada in 1996. It was to re-assemble both into a three-unit plant in the free zone of Hamriyah with a capacity of 75,000 b/d. The plant was to be operational by 1997. But the project was delayed because of financial problems. In late 2001 it was said that Fal Oil would "soon" sign an agreement with a group of bankers and contractors to get the refining project implemented.

Fal Oil said it intended to produce low-sulphur fuels using 75% crude oil and 25% condensate as feedstocks. It was to turn gasoline, gasoil and jet fuel out of condensate to be supplied by BP Sharjah, and to produce heavy kerosine, LPG and bunkers out of crude oil to be imported.

Fal Oil, which has long operated as a bunkering firm, has raised its storage capacity to 360,000 tons from 160,000 tons (120,000 tons offshore and 40,000 onshore) and expanded its fleet. Fal Oil lifts its 20,000-22,000 tons/month of gasoil from Caltex Bahrain and Bahrain National Oil Co. It also takes 400,000 tons of fuel oil from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iran and majors such as Shell and ExxonMobil. It mainly services ships on the east coast of the UAE.

The lubricants sector in Sharjah is the oldest in the UAE. The first lube oil blending plant, on stream in 1976, was built by Sharjah National Lube Oil Co. (Sharlu). It has expanded 4,000 t/y of blended products. There is a wide variety of small and medium sized industries in Sharjah, including chemicals producers. But with Abu Dhabi having become a major petrochemical exporter (see survey in Vol. 60) and Dubai having broadened its industrial base, the other UAE emirates account for much less in terms of industrial production.

Petrochemicals & Other Industries: The chemical sector in Dubai started off with a small acetylene and calcium carbide plant at Jebel Ali in 1985. Since then Jebel Ali has become the centre for Dubai's chemical and petrochemical industries. Now plants at the free zone also produce polymer resins, liquid industrial chemicals, polystyrene, etc.

The biggest venture is a 500,000 t/y MTBE complex which came on stream in May 1995. This is a JV of Dubai Gas Co. (Dugas) and Scimitar Oils of Canada. Its output is exported to North America under term contracts.

A 10,000 b/d plant built by Jotun Polymer produces unsaturated polyester resin. On stream since February 1995, the plant is said to be the first outside Europe for the Norwegian company.

A plant producing 600 tons/month of polystyrene sheets and 300 t/m of polypropylene sheets was built by Middle East Packaging, with an Indian businessman behind the project. This is located next to an existing plant of the company which produces polystyrene cups and containers for juices and dairy products. This plant's capacity has also been expanded.

The first phase of a liquid industrial chemical storage facility was completed in the second half of 1995 by All Industrial Chemicals Group Ltd. of Canada. Eventually storage capacity is to reach 5,800 tons.

Chemstore, set up in September 2001, is a 50-50 JV of ENOC and Modern Freight Co. for the storage of third-party hazardous chemicals. It has a storage facility at Jebel Ali completed in March 2002.

A regional sales and distribution centre called Petrochem Middle East FZE was established in 1995 by a JV of Petrochem UK and Indian businessman Yogesh Mehta. It markets a range of petrochemical solvents, such as alcohols, keytones, ethanol amines, esters, monomers, inorganic powders, glycol ethers, hydrocarbons and specialty chemicals used in a range of industries. Markets range from the GCC to Iran, India and Central Asia.

An acetylene and calcium carbide plant which started up at Jebel Ali in 1985 is a JV of SZP Zavarivac of former Yugoslavia and Issa Oman Bin Haydar General Trading Est.

A plant at Jebel Ali on stream since 1990 produces 6,000 t/y of water-soluble compound fertilisers (Dubai's first fertiliser venture). It was built by Union Kemira Co., a JV of the UAE's Union Agricultural Co. and the Finnish chemical and fertiliser group Kemira.

A fertiliser plant dismantled in Sri Lanka has been relocated and upgraded at Jebel Ali for a JV of Southern Petrochemical Industries Corp. (SPIC) of India holding 85% and a partnership of the local Emirates Trading Agency and Detroit-based MCN Investment Co. holding 15% The plant can produce 396,000 t/y of urea and 226,000 t/y of ammonia.

An aromatics plant producing benzene, toluene and xylene for export came on stream at end-1990. It was built for Dubai Chemical Co. at $60m. A 10,000 t/y latex plant operated by Union Carbide started up at end-1991. There have been proposals for a phosphoric acid plant to be built by an Indian firm.

Dubai Aluminium Co. (Dubal), one of the most successful ventures in Jebel Ali, is one of the top aluminium companies in the world. With an 886,000 t/y capacity, Dubal is expanding further. It is a JV of the Dubai government (80%), Southwire Corp. of the US (7.5%), Nissho Iwai of Japan (7.5%) and local businessmen (5%).

Dubal's smelter first came on stream with a 130,000 t/y capacity in 1980.

Dubai Cables Co. (Ducab), set up in 1979, now owned 50-50 by the Dubai government and Abu Dhabi's General Industry Corp. (GIC), is one of the biggest and most profitable producers of medium voltage cables. Now it is being expanded for another range of products.