ADNOC secures utilities for TA’ZIZ chemicals hub at Ruwais

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) and Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. PJSC (TAQA) have signed a 27-year utilities purchase agreement to develop and supply centralized utilities for the TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone at Ruwais Industrial City in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region.

Signed on Jan. 28, the long-term agreement underpins utilities offtake and construction for a central platform that will supply electricity grid connection, steam, water, cooling, compressed air, and wastewater services required to support TA’ZIZ’s multiple chemicals and transition fuels projects.

The utilities platform will be developed on a build-own-operate basis by a project company jointly owned by TAQA (60%) and ADNOC (40%). TAQA and ADNOC will jointly oversee operations and maintenance. TA’ZIZ will establish and own a service management company that will act as sole offtaker, providing long-term demand certainty for the utilities system.

Contracted capacity for the central utilities platform includes:

• 163 tonnes/hr of steam.
•  710 tonnes/hr of water.
•  13,850 normal cu m/hr of compressed air.
•  385 cu m/hr of wastewater treatment.
• 5,000 cu m/hr of firewater.

Steam will support process heating, stripping, cleaning, temperature control, and turbine drives. Water systems will serve cooling, steam generation, chemicals processing, firefighting, washing, and potable use.

The utilities infrastructure is a core element of TA’ZIZ’s shared-services model, which also includes feedstock pipelines, tank storage, logistics assets, emergency response, and common health, safety, and environmental systems.

This latest agreement will ensure reliable, integrated utilities supply for Phase 1 of the TA’ZIZ ecosystem, which targets startup by 2028 with total chemical production capacity of 4.7 million tonnes/year (tpy), the partner companies said.

Phase 1 chemicals production

A joint venture between ADNOC and Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Co. PJSC (ADQ), TA’ZIZ’s more than $5-billion Phase 1 is designed to establish one of the largest integrated chemicals platforms in the Gulf Cooperation Council. Once operational, the ecosystem will produce methanol, low-carbon ammonia, and chlorine-alkali and vinyls products, including polyvinyl chloride (PVC), ethylene dichloride (EDC), vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), and caustic soda.

The January 2026 utilities contract follows TA’ZIZ’s February 2025 award of a $1.7-billion engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract to Samsung E&A Co. Ltd. for a 1.8-million-tpy natural gas-to-methanol plant, scheduled for startup in 2028. The methanol unit is expected to be powered by clean electricity from the regional grid and positioned among the lowest-emissions plants of its kind.

In November 2025, TA’ZIZ awarded a $1.99-billion EPC contract to China National Chemical Engineering & Construction Corp. Seven Ltd. to build the UAE’s first integrated PVC complex, which will deliver 1.9 million tpy of PVC, EDC, VCM, and caustic soda and rank among the three largest global single-site PVC complexes. Mechanical completion is targeted for fourth-quarter 2028.

TA’ZIZ Phase 1 also includes a 1-million tpy low-carbon ammonia plant, positioning Ruwais as a regional hub for both conventional and transition-aligned chemical products.

Logistics, export infrastructure

Supporting downstream logistics, ADNOC Logistics & Services PLC and TA’ZIZ signed a 50-year agreement in October 2025 to develop the UAE’s first dedicated chemicals port at Ruwais. ADNOC L&S will build, own, and operate the port, which is valued at more than $300 million and scheduled for completion in fourth-quarter 2026.

The port is expected to generate more than $1.3 billion in revenue for ADNOC L&S over its first 27 years and will enable efficient export of TA’ZIZ’s chemicals to growth markets in the Asia Pacific and Africa.

Economic, industrial impact

According to ADNOC and TA’ZIZ, Phase 1 of the TA’ZIZ ecosystem is expected to contribute about $50 billion (AED 183 billion) to the UAE economy over its lifetime, create about 20,000 construction jobs and 6,000 operational roles, and enable domestic production of hundreds of chemical derivatives for the first time.

TAQA said the utilities agreement expands its regional power and utilities portfolio, which includes the 1-Gw Al Dhafra gas turbine project in the UAE and 3.6 Gw of high-efficiency power generation capacity under development in Saudi Arabia.

TA’ZIZ has also confirmed early-stage design work for a potential multibillion-dollar expansion beyond Phase 1 that could more than double production capacity and incorporate additional decarbonization technologies, including clean power and carbon capture.