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ADNOC Refining Achieves Full Production of Polymer-grade Propylene

The Ruwais integrated refining and petrochemical hub seeks to meet the increasing global demand for specialist polymer products. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Ruwais integrated refining and petrochemical hub seeks to meet the increasing global demand for specialist polymer products. Asharq Al-Awsat
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ADNOC Refining Achieves Full Production of Polymer-grade Propylene

The Ruwais integrated refining and petrochemical hub seeks to meet the increasing global demand for specialist polymer products. Asharq Al-Awsat
The Ruwais integrated refining and petrochemical hub seeks to meet the increasing global demand for specialist polymer products. Asharq Al-Awsat

ADNOC Refining, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), has announced that it has reached full production of polymer-grade propylene from its newly commissioned Propane Dehydrogenation (PDH) unit, located in the Ruwais integrated refining and petrochemical hub.

The PDH unit processes propane from two major sources, ADNOC Gas Processing and Ruwais Refinery West, to produce half a million tons per year of polymer-grade propylene. The standalone unit is part of the recently commissioned Carbon Black and Delayed Coker project.

Jasem Al Sayegh, ADNOC Refining CEO, said: "The PDH unit is a key element of ADNOC Refining’s expansion strategy to help create maximum value for ADNOC’s Downstream businesses. It also underlines our intent to continue to expand Ruwais to become the world’s largest integrated refining and petrochemical complex, operating to world-class standards.

"The expansion in propylene production will be over half a million tons per year, adding value to our refining operations by integrating with downstream processing units. It will also help enable our partner company, Borouge, to meet the increasing global demand for specialist polymer products, particularly from the Asia-Pacific region."

Propane dehydrogenation is used to produce polymer-grade propylene from propane independent of a steam cracker, or fluid catalytic cracking unit. It provides a dedicated and reliable source of propylene to meet the growing market demand for propylene and gives more control over propylene feedstock costs.

Propylene is a key ingredient in the production of polymer. The future demand of polymer is expected to be in Asia, which is projected to be the fastest-growing market for the product due to rising automotive production and greater purchasing power of expanding middle-class populations.

In July, as a further sign of ADNOC’s intent to increase its share of the global petrochemicals market, Borouge awarded the Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract for an additional polypropylene plant (PP5), to be integrated with the existing Borouge 3 complex in Ruwais and grow its polymer production capacity to almost 5 million tons per year by 2021.

In May, at its Downstream Investment Forum, ADNOC unveiled plans to upgrade the entire Ruwais refining and petrochemicals complex, designed to substantially increase the company’s flexibility and capabilities to produce greater volumes of higher-value petrochemicals and derivative products. It includes building one of the world’s largest mixed feed crackers, trebling petrochemical production capacity from 4.5 mtpa in 2016 to 14.4 mtpa by 2025.

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White House Escalates Pressure Campaign on Federal Reserve by Targeting Its Headquarters Renovation

President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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White House Escalates Pressure Campaign on Federal Reserve by Targeting Its Headquarters Renovation

President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The White House is trying to turn the Federal Reserve into a poster child for wasteful spending, criticizing an expensive renovation at the central bank’s headquarters as President Donald Trump pursues an extraordinary pressure campaign to lower interest rates.

The latest step came Thursday when Russ Vought, Trump’s top budget adviser, sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell saying the president is “extremely troubled” that plans may have violated government building rules with an “ostentatious overhaul."

Trump also named two close aides — James Blair, a deputy chief of staff, and Will Scharf, the staff secretary who furnishes the president with executive orders for his signature — to the National Capital Planning Commission, an obscure panel that could provide another avenue to increase scrutiny.

Blair said he would be “requesting a review of all previous and current building plans” and suggested that Powell wasn’t honest while testifying to Congress about the renovations last month.

If Powell isn’t truthful, Blair wrote on social media, “how else is the American Public to maintain confidence that its monetary policy manager is acting in their interests?”

Taken together, the latest steps amount to an escalating effort to dislodge Powell from his position as chairman before his term ends next May. It’s an unprecedented attempt to reshape the Federal Reserve’s traditional role as an autonomous arbiter of US monetary policy.

If successful, Trump will have expanded his influence to yet another corner of American government that was once seen as beyond the reach of political pressure, but he will have also jeopardized the independence that has made the central bank a foundational player in the US economy.

On Wednesday, Trump said Powell “should resign immediately” so “we should get somebody in there that’s going to lower interest rates.” He suggested that he’d rather have Scott Bessent, his Treasury secretary, as a replacement.

Powell has resisted Trump’s pressure, largely out of concern that Trump’s tariff plans could increase costs for American consumers. If rates are lowered too aggressively, it could lead to a resurgence of inflation.

But Trump insists that inflation is no longer a problem, and a rate cut would help make mortgages, auto loans and other forms of consumer debt cheaper. Trump has also said it would allow the US government to finance its debt more cheaply, a pressing concern as legislation signed by the president is poised to increase the federal deficit by extending tax cuts.

“LOWER THE RATE!!!” Trump wrote on social media on Thursday as he continued a near-daily drumbeat of criticism.

However, there’s no guarantee that financial markets will reduce rates on government debt even if the Fed bows to Trump’s wishes. Such a situation could lead to higher interest costs for consumers — a reminder of how monetary missteps may backfire.

Powell was nominated to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors by President Barack Obama, then made chairman by Trump during his first term. But in his second term, Trump turned Powell — who has sought to avoid politics and refrains from responding directly to the president— into one of his primary antagonists.

Trump has said that he wouldn’t directly oust Powell — “I don’t know why it would be so bad, but I’m not going to fire him,” he said last month. The Supreme Court said in May that it could block such a step.

However, Trump's allies have found other ways to make Powell uncomfortable.

Bill Pulte, the Trump-appointed director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, also accused Powell of lying to Congress about the renovations.

“I am asking Congress to investigate Chairman Jerome Powell, his political bias, and his deceptive Senate testimony, which is enough to be removed ‘for cause,’” he said last week. Pulte said the situation “stinks to high heaven.”

Vought, in his own letter, said the called the initial renovation plans featuring rooftop terrace gardens, VIP dining rooms and premium marble an “ostentatious overhaul.” Vought also suggested that Powell misled Congress by saying the headquarters had never had a serious renovation, saying that an update to its roof and building systems that was completed in 2003 counts as a “comprehensive” renovation.

Fed officials did not respond to an email seeking a response to the letter. Powell said in Senate testimony last month that some of the elements in the 2021 plan such as the dining rooms and rooftop terraces are no longer part of the project for the 90-year-old Marriner S. Eccles Building.

The debate over the renovation could set up a legal battle between the White House and the Fed, which under the law is allowed to use its own judgment to establish “suitable” and “adequate” quarters for its operations.

Sung Won Sohn, a finance and economics professor at Loyola-Marymount University, said “it’s good that the central bank budget is coming under review and scrutiny.”

However, he warned against using such issues to challenge the Fed’s independence. If that’s compromised, he said, it’s “bad for the economy, that’s bad for inflation expectations and therefore long term inflation.”