Adnoc Distribution to expand aircraft refueling in Egypt

1

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

TODAY: Adnoc Distribution is set to expand aircraft refueling in Egypt + Egypt’s fire-damaged FSRU is headed to Spain for repairs

Good morning, nice people — today's theme is repair and expansion, side by side.

Adnoc Distribution is expanding into a different kind of fuel entirely. The company will begin aircraft refueling at Sphinx Airport in October and at Hurghada by year-end.

Meanwhile, Egypt has settled on where its fire-damaged FSRU gets fixed — and when it's coming home. The Energos Winter has left for Spain to begin repairs and is expected back at Damietta by the end of October to resume operations.

And Etihad Rail Freight and AD Ports Group are laying down a new line straight into Abu Dhabi's industrial heart. A direct rail service will link Fujairah Terminals to the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi, moving customs inspection, clearance, and release closer to businesses' own warehouses and factories.

Plus: the retaliation cycle in Yemen just escalated again. Houthi militants targeted Yanbu and Riyadh yesterday, using ballistic and cruise missiles and drones to cause large fires at the targeted sites, according to Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree. The group targeted Aramco’s facilities in Yanbu as a response to Saudi Arabia’s 732 airstrikes against them so far, Saree said.

The EnterpriseAM Egypt Forum is less than a month away — and here's some of what’s shaping up on the agenda:

Where AI fits on the list of topics keeping CEOs awake at night
What AI means for your company, your team, your job, and your family
What's the AI opportunity for Egypt
Building the AI infrastructure

And more panels to come.

Join us on 5 October in Cairo. Attendance is by invitation only, and seats are filling up quickly.

Request your invitation here.

L’imad eyes stake in cargo giant

Abu Dhabi's L’imad Holding is weighing a bid for a stake in Atlas Air Worldwide, the Apollo-controlled air cargo giant that could be valued north of USD 10 bn, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Talks are early, and it's competing against other strategics and PE firms who’ve been circling since Apollo was first reported to be weighing a sale of the closely held company back in December.

Why it matters: This would be the latest move in Abu Dhabi’s push to build logistics and transport routes that help it circumvent the Strait of Hormuz. L'imad — overseen by Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled — has been explicit about wanting to rejig UAE supply chains and open new export corridors, and a big air-cargo platform fits that thesis neatly alongside its ports and maritime holdings via AD Ports — over which it has just tightened control, acquiring an additional 23.08% stake, on top of the 75.42% it already held, pushing its stake past 98.5% and allowing it to squeeze out remaining shareholders and take it private.

The bigger picture — L'imad has been on a roll:

Absorbed sovereign investor ADQ in January, inheriting stakes from Sotheby’s to Etihad;
Joined GIP, Temasek, and Adnoc in a USD 30 bn infrastructure investment venture in May;
Backed Paramount Skydance’s hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery;
and tightened control of its two biggest domestic assets, Taqa and AD Ports

AGL gets its extension

The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has given Africa Global Logistics (AGL) three more months to firm up its Egytrans Nosco offer, according to a statement (pdf). The new deadline to submit a mandatory tender offer (MTO) now runs to 21 December, pushed back from 27 September. The 60-working-day extension was granted after AGL, MSC’s pan-African logistics arm, asked for more time on 13 September.

REFRESHER- AGL made a non-binding indicative offer in late June to acquire up to 100% of Egytrans Nosco at a provisional range of EGP 11.25-12.25 per share, with a 75% floor, aiming for a voluntary delisting from the EGX. At the top end, that values the company at EGP 2.76 bn, which is an 18.4% premium to the stock’s pre-news close. The board first tasked management with studying the offer in mid-July, then cleared AGL to begin due diligence later that month. This gives it 60 days from the start of examination, subject to extension. AGL still needs to clear regulators in three jurisdictions: Egypt’s Competition Authority, the Comesa Competition and Consumer Commission, and Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Competition.

On track for 2027

We have a date on Hafeet: The rail link between the UAE and Oman will begin trial runs in 4Q 2027, Trade Arabia reports, citing Omani Transport Minister Saeed bin Hamoud Al Maawali. The 238-km line will carry both freight and passenger traffic between Sohar Port and the UAE’s national rail network via Al Buraimi and Al Ain.

REMEMBER- Oman ratified its railway agreement with the UAE just last week, clearing a key government step for a project we’ve tracked since 2024. Construction was around 40% complete in April, with USD 1.5 bn in debt financing secured and Noatum Logistics already lined up to run a daily container service once trains start moving.

Why it matters: The GCC still lacks a continuous, high-capacity rail corridor that can bypass the Strait of Hormuz — there are no railways connecting Omani ports outside the strait directly into UAE markets, yet. This makes Hafeet Rail the clearest test case yet for Gulf rail as a way to avoid the maritime chokepoint.

Market watch

Oil prices fell to a one-week low this morning on hopes for Iran diplomacy and a recovery in Saudi shipments, Reuters reports. Brent crude futures declined USD 2.16 to USD 101.71 / bbl by 02.13 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell USD 2.15 to USD 98.15 / bbl.

The Baltic Index rebounds slightly: The Baltic Exchange’s dry bulk index — which tracks rates for the capesize, panamax, and supramax vessel segments — rose 1% to 3,370 points on Friday. The capesize index surged 2% to 5,768 points, while the panamax fell 1.4% to 2,251 points. The smaller supramax gained 0.3% to 1,767 points.

The Drewry World Container Index edged up 1% at USD 4,500 per 40-ft container last week, according to the latest index readings. Transpacific rates strengthened — Shanghai-Los Angeles went up 5% and Shanghai-New York rose 7%. Asia-Europe lanes moved the other way, with Shanghai-Genoa down 5% and Shanghai-Rotterdam down 9%. The market remains pulled in different directions — as pre-Golden week demand and carrier capacity cuts are supporting Transpacific rates, while weaker demand and the gradual return of services through the Suez Canal are weighing on Asia-Europe routes. Renewed security risks around the Red Sea and Bab Al Mandab could slow the Suez return, while Asian port congestion and potential German port strikes add further disruption.

***

YOU’RE READING EnterpriseAM Logistics, the essential MENA publication for senior execs who care about the industry that connects producers and retailers to global markets. We’re out Monday through Thursday by 10:15am in Cairo and Riyadh, and 11:15am in the UAE.

EnterpriseAM Logistics is available without charge thanks to the generous support of our friends at Hassan Allam Utilities and Transmar.

Were you forwarded this email? Tap or click here to get your own copy of EnterpriseAM Logistics.

Want to send us a story idea, request coverage, ask for a correction, or otherwise get in touch? Reach out to us on [email protected].

DID YOU KNOW that we also cover Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE? ***

Adnoc Distribution adds Sphinx, Hurghada airports to its aviation fuel network

Adnoc Distribution is preparing to begin aircraft refueling at Sphinx Airport in October and at Hurghada by year-end, as part of a USD 50 mn push under an agreement with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), Asharq Business reports, citing an unnamed government official. Adnoc Distribution will use state-owned infrastructure at both sites.

Why does this move look familiar? The company was discussing an entry into aircraft refueling with the Oil Ministry in early 2024, and a year later was looking to expand beyond Cairo and Marsa Alam airports, including into Alamein, Adnoc Distribution CEO Bader Al Lamki previously told EnterpriseAM.

Why it matters: Egypt already accounts for around 36% of Adnoc Distribution's aviation-fuel sales volumes group-wide, 129 mn liters of 357 mn liters in 1H 2026, per the company's financial release (pdf) — though that 3.9% y-o-y growth trailed the group's 53.9% increase over the same period. Aviation already generates more than 60% of Adnoc Distribution's Egypt-based EBITDA, per the company’s 2025 management results discussion and analysis report.

The aviation expansion comes alongside a much larger retail buildout. Adnoc is weighing a c. USD 1 bn investment to add roughly 400 service stations to its current 245, split across two phases of around 200 stations each, with automotive and engine lubricants also part of the plan.

This time, Adnoc is building instead of buying: It assembled most of its current footprint through its 2023 acquisition of a 50% stake in TotalEnergies Marketing Egypt. For the next 400 stations, it's weighing building independently in Egypt for the first time, developing or upgrading sites with EGPC, or leasing. Adnoc had begun local motor-oil manufacturing in late 2024 then laid out plans with TotalEnergies in May 2025 for marine motor-oil production capacity of around 90k tons a year.

Egypt's fire-damaged FSRU heads to Spain for repairs, with an end-October return to Damietta

Egypt has settled on where its fire-damaged FSRU gets fixed — and when it's coming home. The Energos Winter has left Egypt for Spain to begin repairs and is expected back at Damietta’s Port by the end of October to resume operations, Asharq Business reports, citing an unnamed government official.

REMEMBER- We reported Egypt was weighing two options to get Energos Winter back in service. Egypt was choosing between six-week repair by state-owned Petrojet and sending the vessel abroad for a faster fix. The regasification unit had been feeding around 450 mmcf / d into Egypt’s gas grid before going offline and was the country’s only FSRU on the Mediterranean coast.

Why it matters: The bottleneck was never LNG supply – it was getting that LNG into the grid. Damietta had built stocks to around 270k cbm, or roughly 90% of its 300k cbm storage capacity, after Energos Winter went offline. But without the FSRU to regasify those volumes, the terminal became a storage buffer rather than an entry point into the national gas network. The vessel itself still had about 70k cbm of LNG onboard when Egypt was weighing repair options.

IN CONTEXT- Egypt is running on four FSRUs while Energos Winter is out. Three sit at Ain Sokhna and one at Aqaba, with combined regasification capacity of around 2.8 bcf/d. The outage has left Egypt without a Mediterranean-side regasification route, leaning harder on Sokhna and Aqaba to keep gas flowing.

Egypt also squeezed more gas through the Israeli pipeline system — but there was little headroom left. Flows from the Leviathan and Tamar fields were increased by around 50 mmcf / d to 1.25 bcf / d following the strike, taking the cross-border pipelines to their physical transmission ceiling. That makes pipeline gas useful for replacing part of the lost Damietta supply, but not something Egypt can simply keep ramping up if another part of the LNG system goes down.

The long-term fix now is less floating, more fixed. The government has been weighing three bids for its first permanent onshore regasification terminal at Ain Sokhna, initially designed to feed around 1 bcf / d into the grid. Plans have also been on the table for fixed regasification infrastructure at Damietta, where Egypt and Eni had discussed a roughly USD 150 mn onshore facility alongside additional LNG storage.

The bottom line: Energos Winter’s return therefore restores something Egypt has been missing since July: geographic redundancy. Bringing the vessel back doesn’t just return roughly 450 mmcf / d of lost capacity — but reopens a Mediterranean route into the gas grid and reduces the amount of LNG that has to be routed through Sokhna or Aqaba.

Abu Dhabi’s imports take the train from Fujairah

Etihad Rail Freight and AD Ports Group are launching a direct rail service linking Fujairah Terminals to the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi (ICAD), according to a statement. The service will carry inbound containers across the UAE’s national rail network to an inland terminal at ICAD, moving customs inspection, clearance, and release closer to businesses’ warehouses and factories. Freight capacity wasn’t disclosed.

Why it matters: A port outside Hormuz only helps if cargo can move efficiently beyond its gates — a constraint we flagged in our coverage of rail as a fallback against a Hormuz closure and why Gulf rail wasn’t ready. Alternative gateways need onward connections to work as effective fallbacks, and the inland connection with ports was the limiting factor.

Customers can book cargo straight: The industrial city has been assigned a location code, AECAD, allowing shipping lines, freight forwarders, and cargo owners to book shipments with ICAD as the final destination and customs clearance point. The service targets Abu Dhabi’s importers, exporters, manufacturers, distributors, and logistics providers.

This is a practical improvement whether the strait is open or disrupted. Combining rail transport with inland clearance should reduce handling, shorten final delivery distances, and cut reliance on expensive trucking. “A corridor with the right distances and volumes, where the economics worked on their own terms rather than only under emergency conditions, can retain real and durable business as a secondary route,” former strategy director at Etihad Rail and Dubai-based transport, logistics, and infrastructure expert Urs Mosimann previously told EnterpriseAM.

Adnoc’s big gas plans seek Mark Taylor’s big-project experience

Adnoc Gas named Mark Taylor (LinkedIn) as chief projects and engineering officer, according to an ADX disclosure (pdf). Taylor’s mandate will cover capital discipline and project delivery as Adnoc advances one of the world’s largest gas growth programs.

A USD 60 bn project CV: Taylor, an electrical engineer with 30 years of experience, has overseen capital project portfolios exceeding USD 60 bn across energy, infrastructure, and commodities. His background spans upstream and downstream operations across the Middle East, with tenures at Glencore, BP, Shell, and British Steel.

Sky Ports advances Borg El Arab dry port, Unigaz expands in Hail + Etihad locks in more ground support

An investment a long time coming

Local logistics provider Sky Ports will invest USD 12 mn in the first phase of its dry port in New Borg El Arab, having secured a 30-year concession to design, operate, and manage the facility, Al Borsa reports. Technical studies for the project — spanning 133 acres — are set for submission to the General Authority for Land and Dry Ports and Logistics Zones in early October.

ICYMI- After striving to get the project off the ground in 2020, the authority signed an MoU with Sky Ports to finance, build, and operate the dry port alongside a logistics zone in New Borg El Arab in May. The project is expected to handle some 120k containers annually — hauling about 6.7 mn tons of dry goods.

Filling up in Hail

Unigaz expands its Saudi gas footprint: Riyadh-based Unigaz Arabia signed an SAR 70 mn (c. USD 18.9 mn) investment contract to build an integrated gas storage, filling, and distribution plant in Hail, state news agency SPA reports. The 200k sqm facility will be developed, managed, operated, and maintained by Unigaz, and is intended to serve residential and commercial gas demand in the region.

IN CONTEXT- Unigaz already secured a license for the Hail facility in June, when the Energy Ministry awarded the company three LPG filling and storage licenses covering Hail, Riyadh, and Al Ahsa, alongside a Kingdom-wide distribution license. The licensing round aimed to expand LPG infrastructure and bring more private operators into the sector.

Etihad 💙 Swissport

Etihad Airways is locking down more ground support. The Abu Dhabi flag carrier inked an MoU with Swissport to expand their ground handling and cargo partnership to 40 airports, up from 30, according to a press release. Both companies flagged automation and autonomous ground vehicles as a focus of the expanded tie-up.

Etihad outpaced its Gulf peers this summer. The carrier is flying around 15% more than last year — even as Emirates and Qatar Airways both trimmed summer capacity, and IATA projects Middle Eastern carriers to post a combined loss this year — and has added more than 20 aircraft to its fleet in 2026, while continuing to roll out new destinations.

Calendar

16-17 September (Wednesday-Thursday): Saudi Maritime & Logistics Congress, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

22-23 September (Tuesday-Wednesday): Breakbulk Americas, Houston, US.

22-24 September (Tuesday-Thursday): Seamless Middle East, Dubai, UAE.

28-30 September (Monday-Wednesday): Transport Logistics Middle East, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

OCTOBER

12-14 October (Monday-Wednesday): The Airport Show, Dubai, UAE.

20-22 October (Tuesday-Thursday): TOC Americas, Cartagena, Colombia.

21-22 October (Wednesday-Thursday): Global Ports Forum, Singapore.

26-29 (Monday-Thursday): Air Cargo Forum, Miami, US.

27-29 October (Tuesday-Thursday): Routes World, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

NOVEMBER

2-5 November (Monday-Thursday): ADIPEC Maritime and Logistics Exhibition and Conference, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

10-11 November (Tuesday-Wednesday): TOC Asia, Singapore.

10-12 November (Tuesday-Thursday): Intermodal Europe, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

11-13 November (Wednesday-Friday): Logitrans, Istanbul, Turkey.

18-19 November (Wednesday-Thursday): Breakbulk Asia, Singapore.

FEBRUARY 2027

10-12 February (Wednesday-Friday): Routes Americas, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

MARCH 2027

16-18 March (Tuesday-Thursday): CMA Shipping, Houston, US.

16-18 March (Tuesday-Thursday): Routes Asia, New Delhi, India.

APRIL 2027

20-22 April (Tuesday-Thursday): Routes Europe, Antalya, Turkey.

26-29 April (Monday-Thursday): Transport Logistic and air cargo Europe, Munich, Germany.

26-29 April (Monday-Thursday): Saudi Smart Logistics, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Sections

About

Privacy & Support