Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with two petrochemical industry majors, OMV and Borealis – both based in Vienna, Austria – to explore new opportunities for collaboration in the downstream sector.

All three companies belong to the same holding and already participate in other mutual projects.

Joint efforts in future, said ADNOC, which is based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said, could include the exchange of knowledge and experience in refinery-petrochemical integration and optimization as well as assessing opportunities for petrochemical marketing support.

In the first two MoUs, ADNOC and OMV agreed to jointly explore the potential for using OMV’s ReOil refining technology at the UAE’s Ruwais production complex and ADNOC’s integrated refining and petrochemical hub in the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi.

The "ReOil" refining technology involves thermal cracking at temperatures exceeding 300 °C to produce synthetic crude from plastic waste.

A third MoU calls for ADNOC and Borealis to jointly explore potential growth opportunities within the integrated polyolefin industry in unspecified key geographical markets.

ADNOC and OMV already collaborate in several areas across the value chain. In a $19.3 billion transaction announced in January this year, the UAE company sold stakes in its refining business of 15% and 20% respectively to OMV and Italy’s Eni. The partners also plan to set up a new trading joint venture.

In December 2018, ADNOC awarded a 5% stake in the Ghasha ultra-sour gas concession to Borealis for 40 years and in April 2018 sold it 20% stakes in the SARB and Umm Lulu oil fields offshore concessions respectively.

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE minister of state and CEO of ADNOC, called the preliminary agreements “yet another stepping stone in our journey to grow ADNOC’s downstream portfolio and establish Ruwais as a global refining and petrochemical hub.”

OMV’s world-class expertise and advanced technology will enable ADNOC to further stretch the value of its crude and secure greater returns from the global growth in demand for petrochemicals as it accelerates delivery of its 2030 smart growth strategy, Al Jaber said.