Source: Cepsa
Compañía Española de Petróleos S.A.U. (Cepsa; Madrid, Spain; www.cepsa.com) and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to evaluate a new world-scale Linear Alkyl Benzene (LAB) complex in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.
LAB is the most common raw material in the manufacture of biodegradable household and industrial detergents. It is also used in house cleaners, fabric softeners, and soap bars.
The agreement was signed by Abdulaziz Abdulla Alhajri, Downstream Director of ADNOC, and Pedro Miró, CEO of Cepsa.
The companies plan to progress the basic engineering of the proposed LAB complex in 2018. It is envisaged that the facility will be integrated with the Ruwais refinery complex, and will incorporate Detal-Plus technology.
Pedro Miró, CEO of Cepsa said: “ADNOC and Cepsa bring complementary strengths to the project, ADNOC providing resources and expertise in the feedstock area from its state of the art refinery in Ruwais, while Cepsa as a LAB market leader, provides the leading LAB technology, DETAL-PLUSTM jointly developed by Cepsa and UOP, coupled with commercial and operational expertise.”
Abdulaziz Abdulla Alhajri, Downstream Director of ADNOC said: “This agreement provides the opportunity to work with Cepsa to identify areas for mutual collaboration that will contribute to our plans to maximize the value from every barrel we produce. ADNOC has a rich history of working with partners to unlock opportunities in its operations. Such partnerships continue to be an important enabler of our growth strategy and we see exciting opportunities ahead. We look forward to working with companies, such as Cepsa, to realize our ambitious growth goals.”
Musabbeh Al Kaabi, CEO, Petroleum & Petrochemicals, Mubadala, said: “We welcome this further extension of the co-operation between ADNOC and our portfolio companies. This development is a strong example of our role in supporting the diversification of Abu Dhabi’s industrial base. It will also help maintain Cepsa’s golbal leadership position in LAB, providing a base to meet growing demand both in the region and beyond into Asia.”
The Indian Ocean Basin LAB market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5% between 2016 and 2030, according to the latest market research conducted by Colin A. Houston & Associates Inc., a leading global market research and advisory company. The Asia-Pacific region is the largest and highest growing market for LAB, with high demand from the industrial and household cleaning products sector. With strong transportation links, Abu Dhabi’s strategic location allows easy access to serve these growth markets.
This project will enable Cepsa to continue as LAB market leader in the coming years, as well as giving it access to new growth markets. Currently, Cepsa has specialist LAB plants in Spain, Canada and Brazil, whose production represents 15% of global supply.