Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) signed a strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) on Tuesday to build a chlor-alkali, ethylene dichloride and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production facility at TA’ZIZ in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.

Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will construct an integrated plant with a capacity to produce 940,000 tonnes of chlor-alkali, 1.1 million tonnes of ethylene dichloride and 360,000 tonnes of PVC annually.

ADNOC is gearing up for growth with TA’ZIZ, the mega chemicals production hub and industrial ecosystem based in Ruwais, with investment of over AED 18 billion. Since 2018, ADNOC has attracted significant foreign direct investment from international partners in the downstream business, including refining, fertilizers and gas pipelines.

Growing demand

The agreement capitalises on the growing demand for these critical industrial raw materials and leverages the strengths of ADNOC and Reliance as global industrial and energy leaders. The project will be constructed in the TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone, which is a joint venture between ADNOC and ADQ.

The agreement continues the momentum of ADNOC’s downstream and industry growth plans in line with ADNOC’s 2030 strategy. Petrochemical, refining and gas growth projects are currently under construction, with a number of projects also recently completed across the downstream and industry portfolio.

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, said: “The domestic production of critical industrial raw materials strengthens our supply chains, drives in-country value and accelerates the UAE’s economic diversification.”

India-UAE ties

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries, said the partnership was “yet another testimony to the enormous potential in advancing India-UAE cooperation in value enhancement in the energy and petrochemicals sectors”.

“The project will manufacture ethylene dichloride, a key building block for production of PVC in India. This is a significant step in globalising Reliance’s operations,” Ambani said.

Production of these chemicals will create opportunities for local industry to source critical raw materials in the UAE for the first time, creating additional opportunities for in-county value.

Chlor-alkali is used in water treatment and in the manufacture of textiles and metals. It enables production of caustic soda, essential for the production of aluminium.

Ethylene dichloride is used to produce PVC, which has a wide range of applications across housing, infrastructure and consumer goods.

Tenders for the initial design of the seven TA’ZIZ chemicals derivatives projects have been awarded and work is ongoing. Final investment decisions on the projects and award of related EPC contracts are targeted for 2022.