Austria's OMV may boost investment in petrochemicals in UAE JV

Dubai — Austrian energy group OMV may boost its investment in petrochemical projects in the UAE, where it has a stake in petrochemical company Borouge through its Borealis shareholding, OMV's CEO said Jan. 13.

"We are more thinking of expansion of our joint venture Borouge with further investments into Abu Dhabi," Rainer Seele told the Gulf UAE Energy Forum 2021 organized by Gulf Intelligence.

The UAE provides a competitive advantage due to its energy resources and large-scale facilities, he added. Borouge is a joint venture with Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., or ADNOC, the UAE's biggest energy producer.

OMV is set to become one of world's biggest polymer producers following last year's $4.7 billion deal with Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. to boost its stake in chemical group Borealis to 75%. Mubadala, which owns 24.9% of OMV, will retain a 25% stake in Borealis.

OMV has long been attempting a push into petrochemicals, and the tie-up involves it in a number of partnerships, including a venture in Port Arthur, Texas, alongside Total and Mubadala-owned Nova Chemicals to build a 1 million mt/year ethane-based steam cracker.

ADNOC announced in 2018 plans to spend $45 billion with partners to develop its downstream industries in its industrial hub in Ruwais.

ADNOC Refining counts OMV as a shareholder with a 15% stake, alongside Eni with 20% and ADNOC with 65%. OMV also owns 15% of ADNOC Global Trading, a joint venture with Eni (20%) and ADNOC (65%) focusing on refined products trading, which started operations in September.