Adnoc launches 2nd trading arm to trade refined products

Business Bureau, Gulf Today

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has officially launched its second trading arm, Adnoc Global Trading (AGT), a joint venture between Adnoc (65 per cent), Eni (20 per cent) and OMV (15 per cent) which focuses on the trading of refined products globally.

The AGT virtual launch event brought together leaders from Adnoc, Eni and OMV, as well as the leadership from several Adnoc Group companies, including Adnoc Logistics and Services (L&S), Adnoc Refining, Adnoc Trading and Adnoc Global Trading.

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

Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said: “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. Together with our partners Eni and OMV, our new trading entity expands the reach of our 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.”

Eni CEO, Claudio Descalzi commented: “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. The launch of this new global trading company represents an additional strategic step in our partnership with Adnoc and OMV, a partnership that is stronger and better able to face market dynamics. Our contribution in terms of know-how, operational experience in trading processes and qualified people has accelerated the launch of the venture to quickly reach this important milestone.”

Dr. Rainer Seele, OMV CEO said: “The launch of AGT shows the strength of our 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. Adnoc Global Trading 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.”

From go-live, 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 Adnoc’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.

AGT is ‘born big’ with refined products from Adnoc Refining available to trade and sell, extending the reach of Adnoc products to new markets and customers. The Adnoc Global Trading teams will trade light and middle distillates on their trading books, including jet, naphtha, diesel, and gasoline as well as speciality products.

In addition and in coordination with Adnoc Trading, the 100 per cent owned Adnoc entity focused on crude trading, AGT will ensure non-system feedstock supplies to Adnoc Refining.

In the ramp up to go-live, AGT has developed the policies, IT systems and procedures that will allow safe and responsible trading activity. AGT is already working closely with Adnoc Refining to actively support refinery optimization, enhancing decision-making for production flows and providing greater insights into pricing and market opportunities.

AGT has attracted global and local talent of the highest caliber from the local market, from international trading houses, Adnoc Group companies and from partners Eni and OMV. Each trading team consists of a combination of experienced traders and local talent, such as refined products experts who have in-depth knowledge of the markets, longstanding relationships with existing customers and knowhow of Adnoc production and export systems.

The state-of-the-art trading systems and expert teams oversee the full life cycle of every trade and provide risk management solutions. The teams will employ market and price intelligence and the full spectrum of trading tools, such as hedging to manage and control risk.

Khaled Salmeen, Adnoc Executive Director of Marketing, Supply and Trading said: “Trading allows Adnoc to offer our customers new and additional services and tools to better manage pricing risks and derive more value.”