Adnoc unveils global trading arm for refined products

Marking yet another key milestone in its 2030 smart growth strategy, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) launched its second trading arm on Tuesday.

Adnoc Global Trading (AGT) — a joint venture between Adnoc (65 per cent), Italian energy company Eni (20 per cent) and Austrian oil firm OMV (15 per cent) — will focuses on the trading of refined products globally, the energy giant said in a statement.

Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Sultan Al Jaber, UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and Adnoc Group CEO, opened the virtual trading arm alongside CEO’s, Claudio Descalzi of Eni and Rainer Seele of OMV.

“The go-live of Adnoc Global Trading marks another important milestone in the delivery of our 2030 smart growth strategy, and our focus on providing a better and broader service to our customers while driving growth and adding incremental value to our operations,” said Al Jaber.

He said the new trading entity expands the reach of Adnoc products to new markets and new customers. “AGT will enhance the skills of our people by combining experienced traders with the next generation of bright home-grown talent, creating new and exciting opportunities for UAE nationals while unlocking additional revenue streams for Adnoc and the UAE.”

Descalzi said the launch of the new global trading company represents an additional strategic step in Eni’s partnership with Adnoc and OMV, “a partnership that is stronger and better able to face market dynamics.”

“In our recent past, Eni have developed many new initiatives along the value chain alongside Adnoc and we started a collaboration aimed at achieving new solutions for energy transition. Our contribution in terms of knowhow, operational experience in trading processes and qualified people has accelerated the launch of the venture to quickly reach this important milestone,” said Descalzi.

Seele said AGT shows the strength of the three-way partnership across refining and trading. “At OMV we strongly believe in the value of integrated business as a platform from which to achieve maximum efficiency and the best possible performance.

The new trading arm “will unlock an additional level of integrated value creation for its partners. This is especially important as we expect the oil, gas and derivatives markets to remain challenging and volatile,” Adnoc said.

AGT offers a broader range of integrated services to its customers and enables Adnoc to further commercialise its refined product sales with new delivery, pricing and hedging options. AGT will work closely with Adnoc L&S, the UAE’s leading shipping company, to provide greater access to the energy giant’s global network of shipping and storage solutions. Traders will be able to offer bespoke arrangements including global delivery, shipping and storage of refined products where they are needed, the statement said.

Khaled Salmeen, Adnoc executive director of Marketing, Supply and Trading, said the new trading platform allows Adnoc to offer customers new and additional services and tools, ultimately enabling both Adnoc and its customers to better manage pricing risks and derive more value from every barrel that we produce, refine, ship, and sell.

— issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com