Borouge to amp up its production capacity: Adnoc petrochemicals JV Borouge has inked two contracts for expansion projects that aim to boost its production capacity to over 6.6 mn per tonnes per annum (tpa) by 2028, according to a statement (pdf). The projects are poised to generate between AED 600 mn and AED 730 mn in annual EBIDTA. The investment tickets for the two projects were not disclosed.

Upgrading its ethane unit: Borouge awarded German gas optimization engineering firm LindeEngineering with a contract for front-end engineering design services to advance its second ethane unit (EU2) with an additional capacity of 230k tpa. The project is set to boost the EU2 crackers’ follow through by 15% and is set to be completed by 4Q 2028. State-owned Adnoc Gas and Adnoc Refining supplies the ethane used to feed Borouge’s EU2 cracker.

Refurbishing its Polyethylene facilities: The firm signed an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract with homegrown Target Engineering Construction Company to upgrade and expand its polyethylene PE4 and PE5 production units. The project is expected to bolster the unit’s capacity to 700 tpa, up from 540k tpa each, and is slated to be ready for operation in 1Q 2027.

This comes amid rising demand for petrochemicals: “The expansions of our ethylene and polyethylene capabilities will enable Borouge to meet growing market demands, unlock new revenue streams, and further strengthen our global market position,” CEO Hazeem Sultan Al Suwaidi said. Adnoc has been doubling down on petrochemicals with several acquisitions, including the USD 3.62 bn acquisition of OCI Global’s 50%+1 stake in chemical producer Fertiglobe in October. It also secured a majority stake in German chemicals company Covestro in what is the biggest acquisition of a European firm by a Middle Eastern buyer in 16 years.

REMEMBER- Adnoc and Austria’s OMV agreed terms of an agreement to merge their polyolefins businesses after years of negotiations last month. The move created Borouge International — a USD 60 bn global polyolefins player set to be the world’s fourth largest. The merged business, based in Austria with a regional HQ in the UAE, will have a capacity of 13.6 mn tonnes per year across Europe, the Middle East, and North America. The companies also acquired Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala’s Nova Chemicals for USD 13.4 bn, including debt, with the acquisition set to be financed by a bridge loan.

Borouge at a glance: Borouge has a current capacity of 5 mn tpa — standing out as one of the top five polyolefin producers in the Middle East and Asia Pacific. The company’s net income increased 24% y-o-y in 2024 to USD 1.2 bn, driven by record production and sales volumes — which reached 5.3 mn tonnes — on the back of strong customer relationships and expansion into high-growth markets in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

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