Bad New for Oil Refinery in Fujairah

Chris Stanton at The National reports:

Wide profit margins for oil refiners are coming to an end along with the world’s appetite for oil, experts say, marking the end to a long boom in the downstream oil industry.

The downturn comes just as the UAE is set to double its refining capacity and could slow the country’s efforts to diversify its oil and gas industry away from simple crude oil exports.

That is bad news for the UAE, which is in the midst of expanding its refinery at Ruwais and studying the feasibility of building a refinery in Fujairah. Together, the two export-orientated projects would add 617,000 barrels per day (bpd) to the country’s current refining capacity of 628,000 bpd.

To read the full article:
Chris Stanton, Refining Losing its Lustre, The National, 27 October 2008.

Dr Geoff Pound

Image: Oil refinery, Fujairah.