The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has officially launched its second trading arm, ADNOC Global Trading (AGT), a joint venture between ADNOC (65%), Eni (20%) and OMV (15%) which focuses on the trading of refined products globally.

The AGT virtual launch event brought together leaders from ADNOC, Eni and OMV, as well as the leadership from several ADNOC Group companies, including ADNOC Logistics and Services (L&S), ADNOC Refining, ADNOC Trading and ADNOC Global Trading.

H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Group CEO opened the virtual forum alongside CEO’s, Claudio Descalzi of Eni and Rainer Seele of OMV.

H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said: “The go-live of ADNOC Global Trading marks another important milestone in the delivery of our 2030 smart growth strategy, and our focus on providing a better and broader service to our customers while driving growth and adding incremental value to our operations. Together with our partners Eni and OMV, our new trading entity expands the reach of our products to new markets and new customers. AGT will enhance the skills of our people by combining experienced traders with the next generation of bright home-grown talent, creating new and exciting opportunities for UAE nationals while unlocking additional revenue streams for ADNOC and the UAE.”
Eni CEO, Claudio Descalzi commented: “In our recent past, Eni have developed many new initiatives along the value chain alongside ADNOC and we started a collaboration aimed at achieving new solutions for energy transition. The launch of this new global trading company represents an additional strategic step in our partnership with ADNOC and OMV, a partnership that is stronger and better able to face market dynamics. Our contribution in terms of know-how, operational experience in trading processes and qualified people has accelerated the launch of the venture to quickly reach this important milestone.”

Dr. Rainer Seele, OMV CEO said: “The launch of AGT shows the strength of our partnership across refining and trading. At OMV we strongly believe in the value of integrated business as a platform from which to achieve maximum efficiency and the best possible performance. ADNOC Global Trading will unlock an additional level of integrated value creation for its partners. This is especially important as we expect the oil, gas and derivatives markets to remain challenging and volatile.”

From go-live, AGT offers a broader range of integrated services to its customers and enables ADNOC to further commercialize its refined product sales with new delivery, pricing and hedging options. AGT will work closely with ADNOC L&S, the UAE’s leading shipping company, to provide greater access to ADNOC’s global network of shipping and storage solutions. Traders will be able to offer bespoke arrangements including global delivery, shipping and storage of refined products where they are needed.

AGT is ‘born big’ with refined products from ADNOC Refining available to trade and sell, extending the reach of ADNOC products to new markets and customers. The ADNOC Global Trading teams will trade light and middle distillates on their trading books, including jet, naphtha, diesel, and gasoline as well as speciality products.

In addition and in coordination with ADNOC Trading, the 100% owned ADNOC entity focused on crude trading, AGT will ensure non-system feedstock supplies to ADNOC Refining.

In the ramp up to go-live, AGT has developed the policies, IT systems and procedures that will allow safe and responsible trading activity. AGT is already working closely with ADNOC Refining to actively support refinery optimization, enhancing decision-making for production flows and providing greater insights into pricing and market opportunities.

AGT has attracted global and local talent of the highest caliber from the local market, from international trading houses, ADNOC Group companies and from partners Eni and OMV. Each trading team consists of a combination of experienced traders and local talent, such as refined products experts who have in-depth knowledge of the markets, longstanding relationships with existing customers and knowhow of ADNOC production and export systems.

The state-of-the-art trading systems and expert teams oversee the full life cycle of every trade and provide risk management solutions. The teams will employ market and price intelligence and the full spectrum of trading tools, such as hedging to manage and control risk.

Khaled Salmeen, ADNOC Executive Director of Marketing, Supply and Trading said: “Trading allows ADNOC to offer our customers new and additional services and tools, ultimately enabling both ADNOC and its customers to better manage pricing risks and derive more value from every barrel that we produce, refine, ship, and sell. ADNOC Global Trading has the right systems, policies, procedures and people in place to start trading. We look forward to offering new, integrated solutions to our local and international customers, while unlocking value to ADNOC and its partners.”

ADNOC Global Trading becomes part of the growing International Financial Center at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), alongside ADNOC Trading, which completed its first derivatives trade earlier this year and ICE Futures Abu Dhabi (IFAD), which will launch Murban Futures on the 29th March 2021, subject to the completion of remaining regulatory approvals. The opening of two ADNOC trading offices at ADGM reinforces its status as a leading commodities trading hub for the Middle East region.

About ADNOC

ADNOC is a leading diversified energy and petrochemicals group wholly owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. ADNOC’s objective is to maximize the value of the Emirate’s vast hydrocarbon reserves through responsible and sustainable exploration and production to support the United Arab Emirates’ economic growth and diversification.

About ENI

Eni is an integrated energy company employing more than 34.000 people in 69 countries in the world. Eni engages in oil and natural gas exploration, field development and production, as well as in the supply, trading and shipping of natural gas, LNG, electricity and fuels. Through refineries and chemical plants, Eni processes crude oil and other oil-based feedstock to produce fuels, lubricants and chemical products that are supplied to wholesalers or through retail networks or distributors.

About OMV Aktiengesellschaft

OMV produces and markets oil and gas, innovative energy and high-end petrochemical solutions – in a responsible way. With Group sales of EUR 23 bn and a workforce of around 20,000 employees in 2019, OMV Aktiengesellschaft is one of Austria’s largest listed industrial companies. In Upstream, OMV has a strong base in Central and Eastern Europe as well as a balanced international portfolio, with Middle East & Africa, the North Sea, Russia and Asia-Pacific as further core regions.
Daily average production was 487,000 boe/d in 2019. In Downstream, OMV operates three refineries in Europe and owns a 15% share in ADNOC Refining and Trading JV, with a total annual processing capacity of 24.9 mn tons. Furthermore, OMV has a 75% participation in Borealis, one of the world’s leading producers of polyolefins. The Company operates about 2,100 filling stations in ten European countries. OMV runs gas storage facilities in Austria and Germany.