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IPIC may Decide Next Year on Site for Abu Dhabi Chemical Plant

DUBAI — International Petroleum Investment Co., the Abu Dhabi company seeking partners for a chemical venture, hasn’t yet determined where in the emirate to locate the plants and may decide next year, a company
 executive said.

Abu Dhabi National Chemicals Co. may be located near Abu Dhabi city or at the industrial town of Ruwais, Borealis AS Chief Executive Officer Mark Garret said in Dubai today. Borealis is owned by IPIC, and Garret chairs the committee planning the first chemical facilities to be built.

Abu Dhabi National Chemicals, also known as Chemaweyaat, is a state-run effort to create one of the world’s top 10 chemical producers. It aims to begin production at its first plant, an aromatics facility called Tacaamol, in 2015, Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Abdulla Al Azdi said in October.

“We can design the plant before we need to know where it’s located,” Garret told reporters. “The country needs to decide if it wants two centers for petrochemicals or wants them concentrated in one location.”

Tacaamol was set to be located in a new industrial and port area near Abu Dhabi city, Al Azdi said in October. “For the time being that’s still our plan,” he said. Putting the plant there would benefit the nearby Taweelah industrial area, while Ruwais, about 240 kilometers (149 miles) to the west, has the advantage of being located near Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.’s largest refinery, Garret said. Chemaweyaat will use liquid petroleum gas and naphtha to run the plants. —