CONNECTING BUYERS AND SELLERS FROM THE DOWNSTREAM INDUSTRY MEDIA PACK 2021

Major operators in the Middle East are refocussing their strategies towards the downstream industry, planning huge investments in to the sector, which stand as testimony to the new dynamism gathering around the industry in the region.

The downstream industry in the Middle East is currently at the forefront of economic transformation, job creation and development, serving as a key enabler for the region’s economic growth. As many ‘transformational’ new, highly complex projects come on stream, growth is set to continue at a faster pace for the region’s downstream sector.

Covid-19 pandemic continues its havoc on almost every sector of the industry. Nevertheless, the downstream sector demonstrated remarkable courage when confronted with uncertainty – redefining resilience to meet the challenges ahead. The industry sharpened its focus on productivity, cost efficiency and operational excellence.

Refining & Petrochemicals Middle East – in its fourteenth year of publication – has emerged as the premier source of authentic news, data and analyses for the region’s downstream professionals. In its pursuit to deliver valuable information to the readers, through interviews of business leaders, columns by domain experts, articles from professionals, reports of industry bodies, analyses by renowned forecasters, and data from reputed market research organisations, the magazine has created a trusted platform for the Middle East downstream industry community for expressing their voice.

Its trusted content reaches thousands of senior and mid-level officials, engineers, managers and other refining and petrochemical industry professionals around the world, helping them make informed decisions and run businesses more successfully.

Martin Menachery

Editor

WORD FROM THE EDITOR

DIGITAL

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Refining & Petrochemicals Middle East ensures maximum reach on the digital landscape by covering every item published in the magazine and RefiningandPetrochemicalsME.com through social media posts on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

The social media platforms provide our audience vibrant engagement, relevant information and content endurance, offering breaking news and insights on key issues about the downstream industry. Interviews with industry leaders and partner events are covered on the YouTube channel.

ICV is a strategic criteria for selecting partners locally in major global projects in the Middle East energy industry. Almost $138bn of savings can be generated in the GCC countries by 2030 if a circular economic model is adopted. Clean hydrogen will help transform and decarbonise the world’s economy, addressing the global climate emergency and making a positive change to the planet for future generations.

Considering the importance of ICV, circular economy and clean hydrogen, Refining & Petrochemicals Middle East will give novel insights on these domains by engaging with industry leaders through webinars in 2021.

Refining & Petrochemicals Middle East delivers five Newsletters every week to keep readers up-to-date with information from the refining and petrochemicals industry. Vital news, in-depth analysis, latest project information, cover stories with CEOs of downstream companies, market insights, comments from industry leaders, insightful videos, and picture galleries feature in the Newsletters.

Segmented subscriber lists are available to companies wishing to reach out to potential customers through Email Direct Marketing (EDM) campaigns.

RefiningandPetrochemicalsME.com is the Middle East’s premier website for information on the downstream industry, with daily news coverage on all segments of the business. As the only downstream industry focused website in the region, it is the exclusive source for news, views, trends, opinions, features, innovations, challenges, opportunities, success stories, project information, technology and product launches, and special reports on niche domains.

Complemented by thought-provoking comments, interviews and market insights, it is an excellent gateway for those who want to get inside the region’s refining and petrochemical business.

refiningandpetrochemicalsme.com

Through interviews with business leaders, columns by domain experts, articles from professionals, reports of industry bodies, insights by forecasters, and analysis from market research organisations, Refining & Petrochemicals Middle East addresses the challenges and opportunities that matter to its readers.

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il and gas leaders have recognised that digital solutions, combined with engineering innovation, can create value and bring

operational performance bene ts. However, re neries still face challenges in a frequently volatile market, such as reducing costs, com-plying with regulations, optimising asset per-formance, and minimising environmental impact. With the in ux of operational data from the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), coupled with increasing silos of engineering

data, a key strategy for operational excel-lence is adopting digital twins.

Digital twins consolidate data from operations, enterprise, and engineering technologies. A trusted system of sys-tems, digital twins are federated sources of data that allow you to contextualise, validate, visualise, and analyse all of your plant data, no matter what format, or where it is stored, all from within a single view. This federated model provides a collaborative platform that allows engineering, maintenance, and

operations to work together and solve refinery challenges.

Leveraging digital twins to enable a risk-based reliability approach to asset perfor-mance management will help you achieve re nery performance targets. Re neries can be positioned for success using reliability-centred design (RCD) for operational readi-ness and reliability-centred maintenance (RCM) for superior performance once in operation. Over the life of an asset, typical bottom-line results from incorporating digi-tal twins include: (i) reducing maintenance

costs by 10% – 20%; (ii) increasing equip-ment availability by 2%-10%; (iii) reducing spare parts inventory by 10%-30%; and (iv) reducing insurance costs by 10%.

Designing for reliability at the begin-ning of a project is key for a more depend-able, resilient, and successful operation. Including a digital twin in your asset performance work is the key to sustained performance.

Digital twins are central to digital reliabilityDigital twins are fast becoming a priority across many industries. Gartner reported 13% of companies that implement Internet of Things (IoT) projects are already using digital twins strategically, while 62% are planning to do so, or are in the process of doing so.

Digital twins are becoming commonplace in a variety of industries, including the oil and gas industry. They o er tremendous bene ts to re neries, particularly in terms of asset reliability for all critical equipment types. Any failure within pumps, heat exchangers, piping and vessels, compressors, valves, or other key assets can have serious consequences.

Consider heat exchangers as an example. As they operate for long periods of time, unexpect-ed failures can be costly as they a ect uptime and processing. Therefore, it is bene cial to predict an upcoming failure well before it takes place. Using a digital twin of the exchanger can provide visibility into the asset’s current health. With the many data points collected via IoT devices, the digital twin can inform an operator when a component, or system condi-tion begins to degrade without the need for an engineer to access the physical asset. When connected to the asset management system, digital twins grant access to the work order backlog, photos of inspections, and the com-plete maintenance and cost history, as well as provide reliability programme visibility and records of all the ways the asset can fail. Digital twins provide analytics visibility, including the predictive analytics that forecast end of life, the risk pro le of the asset, health indices and all

related engineering documents. Lastly, digital twins provide early warning of when an asset could fail, or show signs of under-performance, minimising the risk of unexpected downtime.

Moreover, with a digital twin, engineers can make risk mitigation decisions based on actual data instead of prede ned time-based maintenance schedules, or guesswork. Assets can be kept running at their optimal level longer for maximum return on the asset and minimum total cost of asset own-ership. This is one example of a digital twin in operation at an asset level. Imagine the bene ts of conducting the whole re nery this way.

Digital twin exampleHatch had its shortest production ramp-up time using a digital twin to manage and share live models rather than using tradi-tional mechanical, piping, and structural drawings. Production ramp-up time is typi-cally 18 months to two years. Ramp-up time with digital delivery was estimated at six months, but in practice only required one week after hot commissioning. The digital twin allowed the team to compress project timelines with quality-controlled, compo-nent-based 3D modelling work ows, all managed in a connected data environment.

Digital twins are taking centre stage in refinery designDigital twins are advancing build-ing information modelling (BIM) in

asset-centric organisations to help them converge their engineering tech-nologies, operational technologies, and information technologies. Digital twins give stakeholders the knowledge that they have the information they need at their fingertips to make fast and ac-curate decisions. Digital twins provide an augmented, or immersive experience and apply artificial intelligence and machine learning. Digital twins provide visibility and insights into analytics to enhance the effectiveness of opera-tions, maintenance, and engineering staff. Using digital twins in their work, project teams can anticipate issues before they arise and react quickly and confidently.

Accessing the right information at the right timeA digital transformation is happening within the oil and gas industry, and digital twins are at the heart of it. Digital twins provide the means for successful digital advancement by breaking down previously inaccessible data silos and granting access to shared information in a common view that improves decision-making. By using digital twins, owner-operators of plants and refineries can improve performance, safety, and mitigate risks, while maintaining insight into their globally distributed assets with digital twins.

HONEYWELL UOP CATALYSTSEMPOWERING HYDROCARBON INDUSTRY

Honeywell UOP is recognised today as the leading developer of advanced catalysts for the re ning and petro-chemicals industry. The company

has leveraged its 100 years of leadership in catalyst research and development and pro-cess technology to develop more than a doz-en new hydrotreating catalysts and a full portfolio of hydrocracking catalysts.

Today, Honeywell UOP is a leading suppli-er and licensor of catalysts and process tech-nologies for the re ning, petrochemicals and gas processing industries, with a broad port-folio of reliable, high-performance catalysts and expertise in a wide range of economi-cally advantageous solutions. In countries all over the world, the company’s catalysts are at work, helping customers operate prof-itably, reliably and sustainably with high throughput and high yields.

An innovator in catalysisHoneywell UOP launched a complete range of hydroprocessing catalysts in 2016, brand-ed under the company’s Unity portfolio that includes catalysts for naphtha, gasoline, middle distillates, hydrocracking pre-treat and FCC pre-treat catalysts. The company has been updating this portfolio of products on a regular basis, including the new ULTI-Met catalyst, which can more e ciently re-move sulphur and nitrogen from lower-value diesel blending components, allowing them to meet Euro V clean fuels speci cations.

The catalyst has more active sites for chemical reactions and can be used as a drop-in reload to debottleneck a unit, re-sulting in increased plant capacity with no additional capital expense. The new catalyst also can be loaded in combination with con-ventional hydrotreating catalysts to further improve their performance.

Honeywell UOP introduced the R-364 catalyst in 2017. It retains all the proper-ties of the previous R-264 catalyst, but with better activity and lower coke production, which improves the e ciency of catalytic

reactions. As a result, the R-364 catalyst is a drop-in replacement for the R-264 catalyst that increases yields of gasoline, aromatics and hydrogen while producing less coke.

The R-364 catalyst converts naphtha feedstock into aromatics, which are used to make petrochemical compounds, or blended into gasoline to improve its octane rating. The high-activity catalyst features an innovative design that can increase production of a CCR Platforming unit by up to 10%. It is currently in use in nine commercial units.

The CCR Platforming process is a con-tinuous catalytic reforming process used throughout the petroleum industry to con-vert low-quality naphtha into blending stocks for gasoline, aromatics for plastics production and high-purity hydrogen. The CCR Platforming process currently is in op-eration at more than 250 customer sites.

UOP’s R-560 xed-bed reforming catalyst is now commercially proven in more than 20 units. The high-performance platinum-rhenium reforming catalyst delivers high activity at extended cycle lengths with a wide range of feeds at varied operating severities.

An enabler in hydrocarbon businessHoneywell UOP is an innovator and enabler in the catalytic processing of hydrocarbons. The company has the widest o ering of li-censed technologies for the re ning and petrochemicals industry. Its core o erings are for re neries — integrated with petro-chemical complexes in many cases — and aromatics and propane dehydrogenation (PDH) units.

Honeywell UOP also has many natural gas processing technologies to remove con-taminants including sulphur, water, carbon dioxide and mercury. The company’s tech-nologies also facilitate recovery of natural gas liquids for use as fuels and valuable pet-rochemical feedstocks.

Honeywell UOP has been very active in-troducing new technologies. It unveiled the energy e cient Light Desorbent Parex process, which is the most e cient way to recover high-purity para-xylene from mixed C8 aromatics isomers. This process lowers capital and operating costs, and o ers bet-ter energy intensity than other processes available today.

Honeywell UOP has been helping the downstream industry to achieve operational

Knowledge Partner24

A Honeywell UOP Polybed PSA unit, which produces

extremely pure hydrogen for re ning processes.

excellence for 11 decades. The company has typically done this in the historic service model in which it sends its service people to the customer sites. These service person-nel evaluate the site to determine ways to improve uptime, reliability, and e ciency, either by use of a new catalyst, or process technology, or by making operational ad-justments to the equipment.

Recently, Honeywell UOP won several key projects in the Middle East region. It has won the Jordan Petroleum Re nery Company project to facilitate the expansion of its re nery in Zarqa. The company will provide manager licensor services, technol-ogy licensing, FEED consultancy services, basic engineering design, catalysts, process equipment, training, and start-up services for the project.

Honeywell UOP has also won the Farabi Petrochemicals Company’s linear alkylbenzene project, which will use Honeywell UOP technologies for a new complex in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, to expand its production of biodegradable detergents. The company will provide catalysts and adsorbents as well as licensing, basic engineering design and other associated services for the new complex.

The company also was chosen to provide its Ole ex propane dehydrogenation tech-nology for a new 500,000 metric tonnes per year on-purpose propylene plant at the Sidi Kerir Petrochemucals (SIDPEC) re nery in Amerya, near Alexandria, Egypt.

Legacy of Vladimir IpatieffCatalysts were rst applied to petroleum re ning in 1933. That year, a UOP scientist

same processes might be performed more e ectively with fewer units.

This will profoundly a ect the economics of re neries and petrochemical plants by lowering energy requirements, reducing the production of low-value by-products, and conserving the only commodity in re ning that is more precious than oil – water. These simpler processes, all enabled by more capable and e cient catalysts, promise to reduce capital requirements, as well as operating costs.

These new catalysts and the processes they enable will allow the Middle Eastern re ning companies to successfully enter downstream petrochemical markets, pro-duce cleaner-burning transportation and marine fuels – for the domestic market and for export. They also will allow the Middle Eastern re ners and petrochemical manu-facturers to ‘move at the speed of innova-tion’, and maintain close technological par-ity with the best competitors in the world.

Creating milestonesHoneywell UOP created a milestone in 2016, when it introduced the IsoAlky process, the rst successful new liquid alkylation process

in 75 years. This process replaces simple mineral acids such as HF and sulphuric acid with ionic liquids, highly engineered cata-lytic materials that embody low volatility and vapour pressure, with high acidity. With far simpler handling requirements and on-site regeneration, the IsoAlky process produces a high-quality alkylate product.

Honeywell UOP also returned to the hydrotreating category in 2016, with a range of catalysts that are e ective at removing sulphur and nitrogen from hydrocarbon feeds. These new catalysts will help re ners meet new global standards for ultra-low sulphur transportation fuels such as gasoline and diesel, without costly revamps of their equipment.

As of today, Honeywell UOP has licensed more than 100 complexes and more than 700 individual process units for the production of aromatics, including more than 300 CCR Platforming process units, 160 Sulfolane units, 85 Butamer units, 80 Isomar units, 58 Tatoray units, and 100 Parex units worldwide.

Based in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines, Illinois, Honeywell UOP has 29 of- ces and other facilities around the world

and has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honeywell since 2005.

conducted the rst successful application of a catalyst to polymerise re nery by-prod-ucts. That scientist was Vladimir Ipatie .

After a distinguished career in his native Russia, Ipatie immigrated to the United States to work for UOP. It was there, in a lab-oratory near Chicago, that he theorised, test-ed and proved that phosphoric acid embed-ded in clay would polymerise waste products generated by the re ning process, convert-ing them into fuel-range hydrocarbons.

While other catalytic processes were de-veloped by other scientists during this peri-od, it was Ipatie ’s catalytic polymerisation that formed the basis for much of the basic catalytic science in petroleum re ning over the ensuing decades.

Under Ipatie ’s leadership, UOP scien-tists developed new catalysts capable of producing more powerful fuels – and later, other new catalytic processes that gave birth to the petrochemicals industry. Much of this was made possible by the development of synthetic zeolites, which made possible new classes of catalysts and adsorbents for hy-drocracking, isomerisation, and paraxylene and cumene production.

Beyond his scienti c genius, Ipatie ’s rep-utation had an enduring e ect on UOP. The most promising chemical engineers in the world sought to join UOP in the hope that they might work under the great Ipatie . His mere presence attracted a community of great talent that itself attracted subsequent generations of new engineers, an enduring legacy that continues to this day.

A golden age of catalystsThree generations later, catalytic science is entering a golden age. Despite 85 years of stunning technological achievement, we have only scratched the surface of what cat-alysts can do.

The keyword for the industry in this new age is ‘process intensi cation’. In simple terms, this means creating new catalyst-enabled processes that perform multiple chemical conversions in fewer steps. Instead of a dozen, or more process units to convert a feedstock into a range of products, the

Licensed more than 100 complexesAs of today, Honeywell UOP has licensed more than 100 complexes and more than 700 individual process units for the production of aromatics.

FACT BOX

Re ning & Petrochemicals Middle East February 2019www.re ningandpetrochemicalsme.com

f late, we have been seeing di erent strategies of oil and gas industry majors going forward – new capacities, adapting to

market changes, diversi cation, and cost optimisation depending on the region: Middle East – technology development, innovations, large-scale manufacturing; Asia – large-scale manufacturing, e ciency improvement; Americas

– gas chemistry, product development, innovations; and Europe and CIS – small-scale manufacturing of environmental-oriented, e ciency improvement.

Possibly, the global polymer sector will be sizing down, taking into account the European trend towards reducing the use of plastics. Against this background, implementation of a project focused on production of specialty chemicals will

solve several issues at once, starting from import substitution of products in certain regions, and aiming to gain maximum return on investment.

Industry prospects are: automotive – BASF; construction – INEOS, Dow; food manufacturing – Evonik, Braskem; healthcare – SABIC, Lotte Chemical; and aircraft industry – SABIC, Toray.

The specialty chemical industry is a complex conglomerate of sophisticated manufacturers, interdependent between the various players. Like all industries, the specialty chemical sector is going to be challenged severely by the impact of the Covid-19 fallout. Demand for products has been severely disrupted as have the supply chains. Stock markets have been impacted and the relative strengths of industry players have changed significantly.

There are signs that the worst effects of the outbreak are ready and waiting to repeat themselves, which would mean even more disruption.

All is not lost, however. Certain sectors such as active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and pharmaceuticals are actually seeing large positive increments from this issue, for somewhat obvious reasons. Nutrition and life sciences are also in positive territory. The specialty chemical industry has a long history of forward thinking and creativity. It is time to put the foot on the innovative accelerator. There

Rob Parry and Alan Fisher are associate trainers with Euro Petroleum Consultants (EPC), which is a technical oil and gas consultancy with of ces in Dubai, London, Moscow, So a and Kuala Lumpur, as well as organisers of leading conferences worldwide. EPC has recently launched the EPC Expert Lab – which offers a series of online (virtual) training courses for the oil and gas sector, including petrochemicals and catalysts courses led by Parry and Fisher. For further details, please visit europetro.com/training.

EURO PETROLEUM CONSULTANTS

Rob Parry Alan Fisher

BASF chemical lab technician Anni Rhone loads the sample plate of a gas chromatograph. Gas chromatography is used to separate the product of a catalytic reaction (in liquid form) into its individual components. The aim is to establish whether the catalyst employed has produced the desired chemical product. (Image for illustration only; image courtesy: BASF)

Re ning & Petrochemicals Middle East October 2020 www.re ningandpetrochemicalsme.com

Adopting outside technology: Most of the larger specialty chemical companies have developed their own product portfolios through research and development, and years of scienti c application. There has generally been a reluctance to buy in new processes from outside. Working with technology provider companies can accelerate the adoption of new products, or new, more e cient production methods to make existing products.

A green agenda: Most chemical companies have adopted zero waste strategies from conception and have continued to develop these. In truth, to stay competitive, they have had to, as feedstock prices are volatile and competition has become ever more severe. But other strategies are available such as adopting di erent technologies. One such strategy is using bio-feedstocks to replace classical fossil fuels.

In 2019, the industry was worth $700bn+. By 2027, it was projected to grow to ~$950bn. However, this was before the virus struck. It will be interesting to see how the industry evolves post Covid-19.

are government grants, and many projects are awaiting finance and realisation.

The specialty chemical products, or ‘effect chemicals’ are sold generally on their ‘effect’ on a value basis rather than the lower margin commodities – that is to say these are costed at what they deliver to the customer. Quite often these are not singular products at all but can be blends, or combinations of various ingredients.

The industry is heterogeneous, in that there are at least 25 different segments when differentiated by end use and limitless segments determined by formulation. Major segments are: agrochemicals, flavours and fragrances, water treatment, construction, textile chemicals, polymer additives and specialties, pharmaceuticals, paper and pulp, electronic chemicals, oil field chemicals, surfactants, and dyes and pigments. As evident, these descriptions are either market based, or functionality based. An often, largely ignored specialty chemical segment is the production, management and use of catalysts and adsorbents. More than 90% of all chemical processes have some kind of catalytic conversion.

Geographically, the specialties industry is split between North America, Middle East, and Europe, but is heavily dominated by Asia, especially China, with dominance in this area accelerating in the last 10 years.

Europe has the least recent expansions, but is historically very strong, with technologies licensed to Indian and Asian (particularly Chinese) manufacturers with a broad specialty portfolio.

Removing commoditisation: Over the years, companies have grown their product portfolios to ll up their process capacities with alternate chemicals – this has been done to boost revenue and reduce overheads. Unfortunately, for the traditional manufacturers, newer suppliers with modern plant equipment, greater e ciency and hence lower labour costs, have begun to compete for market share in these products, thus commoditising them. The strategy now, therefore, seems to be removing these products from the company portfolio and limiting to only

those products where a clear advantage exists, either in the end use, or in the cost of manufacture.

Another form of this behaviour is adding more specialised products, either by licensing in processes, or by creative M&A activities. In addition, some players are offering service, or specific manufacturing steps as a form of adding value to their business.

Employees from the BASF water treatment and paper chemicals plant in Nanjing, China, (general manager Mingwei Qin, operator Miaomiao Jiao, and project operation manager Justin Brightmore) conduct a site tour with a customer, Zeming Wang from SINOPEC Yangzi Petrochemical Co, accompanied by a sales colleague, Michael Wang. (Image for illustration only; image courtesy: BASF)

An often, largely ignored specialty chemical segment is the production, management and use of catalysts and adsorbents. More than 90% of all chemical processes have some kind of catalytic conversion.

Re ning & Petrochemicals Middle East October 2020www.re ningandpetrochemicalsme.com

KIZAD POLYMERS PARK TO ADD $2.5BN TO GDP BY 2025

Strategic collaboration framework agreement with ADNOC will help shape an attractive business and investment environment to support and grow the UAE conversion industry,

providing potential investors with multiple options

KIZAD Polymers Park was launched at ArabPlast 2019, the largest trade expo for plastics, petrochemicals

and rubber industry in the MENA region.

halifa Industrial Zone (KIZAD) re-cently launched KIZAD Polymers Park, which will form an integral part of the polymer conversion ecosystem.

The park aims to be a major economic driver for the UAE, producing 300-400 kilo tonnes of plastic products a year, creating up to 7,000 new jobs, and contributing $2.5bn to GDP by 2025.

The potential export market for the park is estimated at $500mn annually, and it will ensure Abu Dhabi is a hub for developing the latest innovations in sustainability and technology in the industry, including new and advanced polymer technologies, such as composites and 3D printing.

The strategic collaboration framework be-tween ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company) and KIZAD Polymers Park aims to accelerate investment and innovation in the region’s plastics industry. The collabora-tion aims to o er companies swift and cost- e ective access to polymers as well as the option to invest in Ruwais Conversion Park – an initiative that will take shape over the next few years.

Having the state-of-the-art Khalifa Port on its doorstep also provides KIZAD Polymers Park access to polymers distribution, logis-tics, storage and trading across the globe, as well as ensuring raw material supply from other polymer producers in the region and globally.

Meanwhile, Ruwais Conversion Park will provide opportunities for downstream con-version of materials that may be economi-cally challenged to transport over longer dis-tances for further conversion. The investor will have the ultimate exibility to establish a diverse set of long-term competitive facilities between these two sites.

These initiatives further support and build on Abu Dhabi’s ambition to become a global hub for polymer conversion. The joint ef-forts by both entities also aims to create a

sustainable and competitive industrial land-scape in Abu Dhabi.

KIZAD Polymers Park will cater to a variety of di erent polymer segments, including industrial use, such as packaging, construc-tion, and semi- nished products; end-use customer, such as household goods, agricul-ture and hygiene products; and material sci-ence, including compounded and composite materials, and 3D Printing.

Crucial to supporting the circular econ-omy are polymer recycling companies. The park will host a vibrant polymer ecosystem, including diversi ed polymer space and raw materials, production systems and technical support, polymer distribution and trading, and logistics.

KIZAD’s world-class infrastructure in-cludes a diverse range of plot sizes, excel-lent utility networks and ready-to-move-in light industrial units and warehousing, while the close proximity of Khalifa Port o ers

incredible connectivity to markets around the world via major shipping lines. Various initiatives are underway to enhance the in-terconnectivity between KIZAD and Ruwais that enable seamless integration between the two sites.

Meanwhile, foreign rms can take ad-vantage of 100% foreign ownership via the free zone with the bene t of full repatria-tion of pro ts, or bene t from the park’s exibility and choose a mainland-based li-

cence instead.They can also bene t from direct access

to raw materials from the UAE producers, such as Borouge and ADNOC, as well as ac-cess to other major producers in the region and a comprehensive portfolio of specialised raw materials that could be imported if not available domestically. ADNOC is making progress on its downstream strategy that will see it triple its current petrochemical capac-ity over the next ve years by introducing a whole suite of diverse products that enable many new value chains in the UAE.

Knowledge Partner30

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Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi (right), CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports, and Abdulaziz Alhajri, director, ADNOC Downstream Directorate, sign the strategic collaboration frame-

work between ADNOC and KIZAD.

Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports, said: “Through this stra-tegic collaboration framework with ADNOC, KIZAD is helping Abu Dhabi become a major global hub for polymer conversion, support-ing industrial diversi cation across the UAE in support of Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030. Polymer markets are growing fast ow-ing to high demand for these products. We at Abu Dhabi Ports are working through KIZAD to address the needs of companies operat-ing in the polymer sector via world-class lo-gistics services, warehouses, and integrated infrastructure as well as sustainability initia-tives to put an end to plastic waste,” added Al Shamisi.

Samir Chaturvedi, KIZAD CEO, said: “Abu Dhabi is the ideal location for polymer con-verters looking to reach both regional and international markets. Tenants at KIZAD Polymers Park will bene t from access to raw materials from regional producers and connectivity to global polymer product de-mand through KIZAD’s major transport links, which include Abu Dhabi Ports’ ag-ship deep-water port, Khalifa Port and inter-national airports.”

“The Park will source energy supplies from a variety of sources at some of the region’s

Abu Dhabi’s industrial base as we implement our downstream strategy and associated cor-porate transformation programmes.”

Currently, twenty polymer rms are based at KIZAD, including Gulf Compound Blending, Cosmoplast, Interplast, Industrium, Song-won Polysys and Schmidt Middle East. These companies are already leveraging KIZAD’s interconnected business facilities, includ-ing turnkey o ces, serviced industrial land plots, modular light industrial units, and warehouses. Tenants also bene t from smart technology platforms such as Maqta Gate-way, Abu Dhabi Ports’ online community business platform.

The global plastics and polymers market was worth $611.9bn last year, according to international consultants – The Business Research Company – with growing degree of recycling among the trends in the industry. This trend will be re ected by KIZAD Poly-mers Park stakeholders, who support the vi-sion of a circular economy and the develop-ment of long-term solutions in which plastics never become waste, promoting sustainabil-ity as a business objective rather than simply a corporate responsibility.

lowest utility rates and support initiatives to commercialise the recycling of plastic waste. We look forward to collaborating with AD-NOC to create a hub where polymer conver-tors can produce their products faster, cost e ectively, and sustainably.”

Abdulaziz Alhajri, director, ADNOC Downstream Directorate, said: “ADNOC is proud to collaborate with Abu Dhabi Ports and KIZAD to further strengthen and devel-op the UAE’s conversion industry. Together, we will work to ensure alignment with Ru-wais Derivative and Conversion Parks and other industrial parks catering to di erent parts of the polymer value chain, o ering in-vestors a wide choice of options, while also building on synergies.”

“We welcome the competitive commercial environment this will create. This partner-ship is another example of ADNOC’s deter-mination to support the diversi cation of

$611.9bn global market

FACT BOX

Re ning & Petrochemicals Middle East March 2019www.re ningandpetrochemicalsme.com

EVENTS

The Middle East Energy AwardsSince the inaugural Oil & Gas Middle East and Refining & Petrochemicals Middle East Awards ceremony in 2010, the brand’s flagship event has grown to become the definitive awards programme and a must-attend networking occasion for senior executives in the industry.

This year, the Middle East Energy Awards will recognise the massive accomplishments and

achievements being carried out not only in the upstream and downstream communities, but in the region’s utilities sector as well – further expanding the range of attendees and nominees at the event, and in keeping with industry trends towards new sources of energy.

The Middle East Energy Awards attracts a large gathering of top level figures and senior decision-makers

to celebrate industry excellence in a warm and competitive setting.

The awards attract nominations from a wide range of companies and individuals across the Middle East, competing to receive one of the highly regarded industry awards available. Each year, the awards promise to bring the industry together and crown the most deserving nominees across the energy industry.

Refining & Petrochemicals Middle East organises roundtables in association with leading NOCs, IOCs, refineries, petrochemical producers, technology providers, equipment manufacturers and service providers as sponsors on a ‘subject of choice’.

Previous partners and speakers include senior members of ABB, Honeywell, Siemens, W.L. Gore & Associates, ADNOC, BASF, Dow, GP Global, OQ, Petrochemical Industries Company, Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, Bilfinger, McDermott, Petrofac, Wood, Frost & Sullivan, IHS Markit, Orange Business Services, and UniverSUL Consulting.

Roundtables

EDITORIAL CALENDARFOCUS FEATURES SHOW PREVIEWS/REVIEWS + EXTRA DISTRIBUTION

JANUARY Top 25 Technology ProvidersArtificial Intelligence

Innovations in CoatingsCarbon Neutrality

• Saudi Plastics & Petrochem

FEBRUARY CatalystsLogistics, Terminals & Storage

IT/OT ConvergencePlastic Recycling

• ME-TECH• GPCA Annual Forum

• Middle East Refining Technologies Conference*

MARCH Clean Fuels

Process OptimisationRefining-Petrochemical Integration

In-Country ValueCountry Focus: Oman

• GPCA PlastiCon*• GPCA Research & Innovation Summit*

• Oman Downstream Exhibition & Conference

APRIL Top 30 EPC ContractorsPlant Turnaround

Industrial Internet of ThingsSustainability

• GPCA Supply Chain Conference*• SOGAT*

MAY Digital TransformationHeat Transfer & Temperature Control

Specialty ChemicalsHeavy Lifting & Transport Solutions

JUNE Refining Technologies

Rotating EquipmentImpact of Electric Vehicles on Refining Industry

Separation TechnologiesCountry Focus: Kuwait

• ACHEMA•Middle East Coatings Show

JULY Top 10 Ongoing ProjectsFuture of Fertiliser Industry

IT Solutions for Downstream IndustryWater Management

AUGUST Circular EconomyRefineries of the FutureSulphur Management

HSE Management

SEPTEMBER Cybersecurity

Unmanned SurveillanceCrude-oil-to-chemicals Technology

Engineering, Procurement & ConstructionCountry Focus: Saudi Arabia

• Middle East Energy Awards• GPCA Fertiliser Convention*

OCTOBER Top 10 GCC RefineriesWomen Empowerment in Downstream Industry

Operational ExcellenceHydrogen

• GPCA Responsible Care Conference*• LEWAS*

NOVEMBER Petrochemical TechnologiesInstrumentation, Process Control & Automation

Corrosion ControlEnergy Transition

• ADIPEC*

DECEMBER Power 50

Human Capital DevelopmentProcess Equipment

Digital Twins(+ Suppliers You Should Know)

Country Focus: UAE

• GPCA Annual Forum*• Bottom of the Barrel Technology Conference*

NB: We reserve the right to edit copy submitted for publication in Refining & Petrochemicals Middle East. The above focus topics, features, events and country focus topics are subject to change. For more information, please contact the editor. Sponsorship opportunities for the above are available. Please contact the advertising team.

(* Most of the events for 2021 are yet to be announced.)

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POSITION

TRIM SIZE W x H (MM)

+ 10mm Bleed SINGLE ISSUE PRICE

SIX SERIES PRICE

(price per insertion)

TWELVE SERIES PRICE

(price per insertion)

Double Page Spread 410 x 275 AED 34,455 ($9,383) AED 30,572 ($8,325) AED 24,672 ($6,719)

Full Page 205 x 275 AED 22,130 ($6,026) AED 19,705 ($5,366) AED 17,233 ($4,693)

Half Page Spread 175 x 110 AED 24,672 ($6,719) AED 21,687 ($5,906) AED 18,772 ($5,112)

Half Page Vertical 87.5 x 225 AED 17,198 ($4,683) AED 14,749 ($4,016) AED 12,359 ($3,365)

Quarter Page Vertical 55.5 x 225 AED 19,705 ($5,366) AED 17,198 ($4,683) AED 14,749 ($4,016)

Quarter Page Regular 116 x 85 AED 12,359 ($3,365) AED 9,852 ($2,683) AED 7,404 ($2,016)

Inside Front Cover 205 x 275 AED 29,499 ($8,033) AED 27,051 ($7,366) AED 24,660 ($6,715)

Outside Back Cover 205 x 275 AED 39,527 ($10,764) AED 34,397 ($9,367) AED 29,499 ($8,033)

Inside Back Cover 205 x 275 AED 24,660 ($6,715) AED 22,130 ($6,026) AED 19,705 ($5,366)

Full Page Advertorial 205 x 275 AED 34,397 ($9,367) AED 29,499 ($8,033) AED 24,602 ($6,700)

Belly Band Specs. on application AED 44,956 ($12,243) N/A N/A N/A N/A

Cover Mounts Specs. on application AED 47,096 ($12,825) N/A N/A N/A N/A

Inserts Specs. on application AED 27,051 ($7,366) N/A N/A N/A N/A

Guaranteed position: + 10%

Roundtable Sponsorship AED 146,900 $40,000

Knowledge Partnership AED 73,450 $20,000

Tomorrow’s Leaders Today AED 36,725 $10,000

Suppliers You Should Know AED 27,544 $7,500

Product of the Month AED 27,544 $7,500

Market Insight AED 22,035 $6,000

Five Minutes With AED 18,363 $5,000

Platinum Sponsor AED 91,813 $25,000

Gold Sponsor AED 55,088 $15,000

Silver Sponsor AED 36,725 $10,000

Category Sponsor AED 18,363 $5,000

SPECIAL CAMPAIGNS

MIDDLE EAST ENERGY AWARDS SPONSORSHIP

Leaderboard AED 386 $105

MPU AED 367 $100

Overlay AED 584 $159

Video AED 38,923 $10,600

eNewsletter Banner AED 15,570 $4,240

Dedicated Email Marketing (EDM) AED 1,558 $424

DIGITAL ADVERTISING RATES

PRINT ADVERTISING RATES

CONTACTSADVERTISING Mark Grennell Group Sales Manager- Energy SectorT: +971 4 444 3202M: +971 52 641 4952E: mark.grennell@itp.com

EDITORIAL Martin MenacheryEditorT: + 971 4 444 3192M: +971 52 895 6965E: martin.menachery@itp.com

PRODUCTION Basel Al KassemProduction ManagerT: +971 4 444 3388M: +971 50 798 8790 E: basel.alkassem@itp.com

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