Abu Dhabi accelerates...

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Abu Dhabi Polymers Park aims to convert the surplus products from Borouge 2 and 3, expected to exceed 4.5 million tonnes.

As part of its downstream push, the UAE capital is developing the world’s largest plastics park, complete with tailored logistics and supply chain services.

Blessed by gas reserves of around 214 trillion cubic feet (tcf), the UAE is ranked the fifth-largest natural gas holder in the world after Russia, Iran, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Abu Dhabi alone controls around 90% of this reserve, with 198.5 tcf, followed by Sharjah with 10.7 tcf, Dubai with 4 tcf and Ras Al Khaimah with 1.2 tcf of gas.

However, the raw data tells only half the story. Much of the reserves are inextricably linked to oil production and a large portion of the gas also has a high sour content, making extraction and processing an expensive business.

Despite the higher extraction costs, Abu Dhabi is aiming to attract petrochemical production from the region and convert it locally through a dedicated polymers park, a dream that may prove difficult to realise in the current economic climate. However, Mohammed Hassan Al Qamzi, vice president of Abu Dhabi Polymers Park, remains impressively upbeat about the park’s advantages for investors.

“We will have very competitive rates and services that will benefit our converters, reflecting strong savings for them,” he informs Petrochemicals Middle East.

The Mussafah masterplan

With its first plant due to start up by the middle of 2009, the Abu Dhabi Polymers Park (ADPP) in Mussafah will consume between 1m and 2m tonnes per year of polymers, mostly polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). The masterplan covers 4.5 square kilometres at the Mussafah special economic zone in the UAE capital, with total investment estimated at US$4bn.

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