Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) subsidiary ADNOC Refining has commissioned a specialized coker unit as part of its Carbon Black and Coker Project.
Image: The ADNOC’s Downstream investment program aims to boost the company’s refining capacity by more than 65% by 2025. Photo: courtesy of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
The Carbon Black & Coker Project comprises a coker, known as a ‘delayed coker’in the oil and gas industry. The coker is designed to recover highly specialized grades of carbon black and calcined coke.
The firm said that project allows it to extract the maximum value from ‘bottom-of-the-barrel’ heavy oils and slurry.
ADNOC said in a statement: “Not only will it create higher value from what would otherwise be used for low value fuel oil, but both products are essential to industrial processes within ADNOC subsidiaries and other UAE industries, potentially removing the need to import costly raw materials.”
The commissioning comes as the oil company moves ahead with its aggressive downstream strategy to increase production of petrochemical products and supply it to growth markets in Asia, including China.
ADNOC Refining CEO Jasem Ali Al Sayegh said: “The successful commissioning of the coker project, along with the production of the first Green coke created in the UAE, will improve ADNOC Refining’s margins by maximizing value from every barrel of crude oil that we refine.
“By working with local petrochemicals and aluminum industries, and engaging new local and international customers for these high value products, we will deliver greater value to ADNOC and more broadly to the UAE economy.”
The Carbon Black & Coker Project is capable of producing 40,600 tons of two different grades of Carbon black per year, and 430,000 tons of anode grade calcined coke.
The ADNOC’s Downstream investment program aims to boost the company’s refining capacity by more than 65% by 2025.
ADNOC Downstream Directorate director Abdulaziz AlHajri said: “At the heart of our Downstream strategy is an AED165bn ($45bn) investment, over the next five years, that will create the world’s largest integrated refining and petrochemicals hub in Ruwais, where ADNOC will convert 20% of its crude to chemicals, tripling petrochemical production capacity to 14.4 million tons per year, by 2025.
“In parallel, ADNOC intends to build an international, integrated Downstream presence, including securing additional crude refining capacity in growth markets.”