RIL firms up first investment in West Asia in pact with Abu Dhabi company

RIL and TA'ZIZ launch a $2 billion chemical production partnership

Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries (RIL) is firming up its first investment in West Asia with Abu Dhabi Chemicals Derivatives Company (TA’ZIZ). An RIL statement said the two have agreed to launch ‘TA’ZIZ EDC & PVC’, a chemical production partnership at the TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.

“The new joint-venture will construct and operate a chlor-alkali, ethylene dichloride (EDC) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production facility, with an investment of more than $2 billion,” the RIL statement said.

This is the first investment by Reliance in the region, the statement added. This is in line with RIL’s announcement to invest in West Asia when its O2C stake sale deal with Saudi Aramco was put on the back burner.

According to RIL officials, the equity structure of TA’ZIZ EDC & PVC has not been finalized yet.

The Ta’ziz Industrial Chemical Zone projects are currently in the design phase with project start up targeted in 2025. They represent the first production of these chemicals in the United Arab Emirates. “The project will enable the substitution of imports and the creation of new local value chains, while also meeting growing demand for these chemicals globally,” the RIL statement said.

Commenting on the partnership, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology said, “This new joint venture will manufacture critical industrial raw materials for the first time in the UAE, supporting our national strategy to empower the industrial sector to become the driving force of a truly dynamic economy over the next 50 years.”

Al Jaber is also the Managing Director and Group CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

“This joint venture marks a major milestone in ADNOC’s downstream expansion and the development of the TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone. It will help strengthen domestic supply chains, drive In-Country Value and accelerate the UAE’s economic diversification, in line with the leadership’s wise directives,” Al Jaber added.

RIL Chairman Ambani said: “We will be setting up the first projects in the vinyl chain in the UAE at TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone, which is being developed into a global hub for chemicals.”

“India’s need for PVC to propel its growth, and the value from the abundantly available feedstock in UAE, provides a win-win partnership for both companies,” he added.

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.  The production of Chlor-Alkali, EDC, and PVC will create opportunities for export to markets in Southeast Asia and Africa.