Reliance, TA’ZIZ sign deal for $2 bn chemical project in UAE

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Abu Dhabi Chemicals Derivatives Company RSC (TA’ZIZ) have signed pact for $2 billion chemical joint venture in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to a joint statement issued by the companies on Tuesday. Oil-to-chemical major RIL has partnered with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company, in TA’ZIZ EDC & PVC, a world-scale chemicals development at the TA’ZIZ industrial chemicals zone in Ruwais, UAE.

“The TA’ZIZ EDC & PVC joint venture will construct and operate a Chlor-Alkali, Ethylene Dichloride (EDC) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) production facility, with a total investment of over $2 billion (AED 7.34 billion). These chemicals will be produced in the UAE for the first time, unlocking new revenue streams and opportunities for local manufacturers to “Make it in the Emirates”, says RIL in a press release post market hours on Tuesday.

The chemicals set to be produced by the TA’ZIZ EDC & PVC joint venture with Reliance have a wide range of industrial applications, enabling local supply chains and meeting growing demand in key export markets. Chlor-Alkali enables the production of caustic soda, crucial to the alumina refining process. EDC is used in the production of PVC, which is used to manufacture a wide range of industrial and consumer products including pipes, windows fittings, cables, films and flooring.

As per the release, the formal shareholder agreement was signed by senior executives during a visit of Mukesh Ambani, chairman and Managing Director of Reliance, to ADNOC headquarters. In his UAE visit, Ambani met with Sultan Al Jaber, minister of industry and advanced technology and ADNOC managing director and group CEO, and discussed opportunities for partnership and growth in Upstream, new energies, and decarbonisation across the hydrocarbon value chain, it says.

Reliance and ADNOC also signed a framework agreement to explore collaboration in the exploration, development, and production of conventional and unconventional resources in Abu Dhabi as well as in decarbonisation of operations, including in carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration.

Mukesh Ambani, says: “I am happy to see the quick progress made by The TA’ZIZ EDC and PVC joint venture between Reliance Industries Limited and TA’ZIZ in a short time. This joint venture is a testimony to the strong and growing ties between India and the UAE and will be a benchmark for more such projects built on strengths of the two nations.”

“I am looking forward to the implementation of the project at an accelerated pace, taking a step further in enhancing the lives of our people in the region,” he added.

The TA’ZIZ EDC & PVC project is well-positioned to strengthen UAE’s supply chains and support the country’s national strategy to empower the industrial sector and become the driving force of a dynamic and robust domestic economy over the next 50 years, highlights the release.

It is anticipated that the TA’ZIZ complex will benefit from the free trade agreement between India and the United Arab Emirates, which was signed in February of this year. Bilateral trade between both nations will be boosted as new trade and development opportunities, such as TA’ZIZ, are further unlocked, as per the joint statement.

Mukesh Ambani also met with Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, to explore potential opportunities for collaboration in renewable energy and green hydrogen, both of which are key priorities for the UAE and India. Ambani was briefed on the UAE’s ambitious plans to grow its world leading renewable energy portfolio and strengthen its clean hydrogen production capabilities, as described in the country’s “Hydrogen Leadership Roadmap.”

In December 2021, it was announced that the UAE will create a global clean energy powerhouse, under the Masdar brand, consolidating the efforts of ADNOC, TAQA and Mubadala in renewable energy and green hydrogen to create a new world-class entity.