The United Arab Emirates’ shipping and maritime logistics unit of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has acquired two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), boosting its fleet to eight.
The fleet expansion is part of ADNOC’s strategy to tap new customers and markets for the UAE’s Murban crude oil.
It will also help the company achieve its target of increasing crude oil production capacity by 25 percent to five million barrels per day (BPD) by 2030.
The new acquisitions include a new-build VLCC, equipped with dual-fuel technology, which is expected to be delivered in Q1 2023, and an existing vessel that is scheduled to join the fleet in Q2 2021.
These latest acquisitions mean that ADNOC L&S has now added a total crude oil cargo capacity of 16 million barrels this year.
“The acquisition of these VLCCs further consolidates our highly competitive offering, which covers the full spectrum of the oil and gas value chain,” said CEO of ADNOC Logistics and Services Captain Abdulkareem al-Masabi.
“Following our strategic vessel acquisitions in 2020-2021, combined with our integrated logistics and marine solutions, we are confident that our customers will gain a significant edge in terms of time and cost savings for their upstream and downstream operations, including ADNOC Group entities,” he added.
ADNOC L&S, which is the largest integrated maritime logistics and shipping company in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and owner and operator of the largest shipping fleet in the UAE, has been pursuing a smart fleet expansion program, driven by increased demand from its affiliates, in particular ADNOC Trading and ADNOC Global Trading, and favorable asset prices for crude vessels.
In 2020, ADNOC L&S grew its fleet with 16 deep-sea vessel acquisitions. As a result of the additional fleet capacity, ADNOC L&S can further improve cost efficiencies while providing a comprehensive service to its customers.
The latest acquired vessels have a length of 336 meters with a deadweight of 300,000 metric tons.
The existing vessel is equipped with a scrubber, which is an exhaust gas cleaning system that removes sulphur oxides from the ship’s engine, improving its environmental performance.
The VLCC adds to ADNOC L&S’ existing fleet of 140 owned vessels and 100 chartered vessels, which includes deep-sea shipping, offshore support and marine services vessels.
The ADNOC L&S international trading fleet transports crude oil, refined products, dry bulk, containerized cargo, LPG and LNG on its owned and chartered vessels, supporting ADNOC’s operations locally and facilitating the shipment of commodities to global markets.
