Adnoc maps out chemicals future

The Emirati oil heavyweight’s downstream strategy takes firmer shape

State-owned Adnoc’s late-April acquisition of a 25pc stake in Austrian chemicals firm Borealis held by the emirate’s Mubadala investment vehicle in one sense merely shifted an asset from one government pocket to another. However, it was also symbolic of the increasing focus on petrochemicals by the NOC over the past six months. The period was bookended by concretisation of two multibillion-dollar petchems schemes at Ruwais, the emirate’s established downstream hub. In November, Borouge, a 24-year-old joint venture between Adnoc and Borealis, took FID on a $6.2bn fourth-phase expansion at its existing plant—raising capacity from 4.5mn t/yr to 6.4mn t/yr by 2025 and restoring its position as t