(Bloomberg) -- Abu Dhabi, which holds most of the oil reserves in the U.A.E., plans to boost exports of its highest quality crude into the next decade following a $3.1 billion upgrade of its Ruwais refinery.
Flagship Murban crude fetches the highest price of the emirate's three grades because it's easier to refine and yields greater amounts of premium fuels like gasoline. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. plans to upgrade Ruwais on the United Arab Emirates coast, allowing it to switch to cheaper lower-quality alternatives from offshore fields, the company said in a statement. The refinery currently processes only Murban crude, equivalent to about half of total production of the grade.
The move will allow Abu Dhabi to generate higher profits from sales to nations including China where demand growth is set to increase. Abu Dhabi is part of U.A.E., the OPEC member which produces just under 3 million barrels a day of crude, of which about half is Murban grade. The company has been considering the plan to process offshore crudes at Ruwais since at least 2014.
The refinery upgrade will allow Adnoc to process crude from the offshore Upper Zakum field or similar grades at Ruwais, which can process about 817,000 barrels a day. A joint venture of Samsung Engineering Co. of Korea and Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. will work on the project, Adnoc said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Anthony DiPaola in Dubai at adipaola@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nayla Razzouk at nrazzouk2@bloomberg.net, Rachel Graham, Claudia Carpenter
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