ADNOC acquires stake in VTTI

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is taking a 10% stake in global storage terminal owner and operator VTTI. IFM Global Infrastructure Fund and Vitol hold the remaining interest (45% each) in the independent storage company, which owns 15 hydrocarbon storage terminals across 14 different countries.

The VTTI storage network holds around 60mn barrels (9.5mn cm) of combined storage capacity. The deal provides ADNOC access to storage capabilities across some of its key export markets such as Asia, Africa and Europe, while also securing additional facilities at the port of Fujairah, UAE, its main storage hub.

The announcement came shortly after ADNOC confirmed the successful closing of its refining and trading agreements with Eni and OMV, under which a new trading joint venture, ADNOC Global Trading, has been established. This will focus predominantly on the trading of products from ADNOC Refining. 

In February 2019, ADNOC announced that it is building the world’s largest single underground project for oil storage, with a capacity of 42mn barrels of crude oil, in the Emirate of Fujairah on the eastern coast of the UAE. Combined with ADNOC’s existing 8mn barrels of storage in Fujairah, the new Fujairah underground storage facility will strengthen the UAE's position as a reliable supplier of crude oil as well as give ADNOC greater flexibility, allowing it to manage and optimise its delivery schedule and support its broader growth in trading, reports the company.