The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has signed a Framework Agreement with Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) to explore development of an Ethylene Dichloride (EDC) facility in Ruwais.

The signing of the agreement was witnessed by Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO and Mukesh D. Ambani, RIL Chairman and Managing Director. The agreement was signed by Abdulaziz Alhajri, Executive Director of ADNOC’s Downstream Directorate, and Nikhil R. Meswani, RIL Executive Director.

Under the terms of the agreement, ADNOC and RIL will evaluate the potential creation of a facility that manufactures EDC adjacent to ADNOC’s integrated refining and petrochemical site in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi and strengthen the companies’ existing relationship supporting future collaboration in petrochemicals.

ADNOC would supply ethylene to the potential joint venture and provide access to infrastructure at Ruwais, while RIL will deliver operational expertise and entry to the large and growing Indian vinyls market, in which it is a key participant.

EDC is a basic building-block for manufacture of PVC, a polymer product in increasingly higher demand globally. PVC plays a critical role in the housing and agriculture sectors, and demand for PVC, particularly in the Indian vinyls market, is expected to grow significantly.

Abdulaziz Alhajri said, “We look forward to working closely with RIL to identify opportunities to capitalize on the strengths of the Ruwais ecosystem, while delivering a compelling new commercial platform for satisfying the large Indian PVC market, as well as demand for other fast-growing segments in the region.”

Nikhil Meswani said, “This is a significant step towards Reliance’s commitment to pursue backward integration and will pave the way for enhancing PVC capacity in India to cater to the fast growing domestic market. This co-operation ideally combines advantaged feedstock and energy from the UAE with Reliance’s execution capabilities and the growing Indian market.”

ADNOC’s expansion and new investment in downstream will accelerate the delivery of its 2030 strategy, powered by a $45 billion investment, and create a more flexible, resilient and diverse energy business, optimizing its performance and stretching the dollar from every barrel of oil it produces.