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DMEA POLICY DMEA

UAE merges energy, infrastructure

ministries

UAE THE UAE has merged its energy and infrastruc- unit Masdar since 2006.
ture ministries into a single ministry, its govern- Under Al-Jaber, ADNOC has launched major
ment announced on July 5, as part of a broader new upstream and downstream investment pro-
restructuring programme. The new ministry grammes and has taken steps to increase foreign
will be led by the UAE’s current energy minister, investment. It has also listed its fuel retail busi-
Suhail la-Mazrouei. ness, ADNOC Distribution.
Commenting on the move, UAE Prime Min- Al-Jaber was also a key figure behind
ister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said the ADNOC’s recent sale of a 49% stake in its gas
reform would create a more agile government pipeline system to a group of international inves-
that is “faster in decision-making, and more up tors for more than $10bn. Cited as the biggest
to date with changes.” energy deal of 2020, the deal saw US’ Global
The UAE has also set up a new Ministry for Infrastructure Partners and Brookfield Asset
Industry and Advanced Technologies, to be Management, Singapore’s sovereign wealth
headed by Sultan al-Jaber, the head of national fund GIC, Canada’s Ontario Teachers’ Pension
oil company (NOC) ADNOC. But the govern- Plan Board, South Korea’s NH Investment &
ment has not said whether the appointment will Securities and Italian pipeline operator Snam
affect his current role. gain access to 983 km of pipelines that deliver
Al-Jaber also became the UAE’s Minister gas from ADNOC’s fields to its customers in the
of States and a member of its Council of Min- UAE.
isters in March 2013. He then took the helm ADNOC also spun off its oil pipeline network
of ADNOC in February 2016. His other roles last year, passing a 40% stake to US investors
include CEO of Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy Blackrock and KKR for $4bn. ™

REFINING

Fire breaks out at Cape

Town refinery

SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH African fuel supplier Astron Energy is process of restarting after undergoing extensive
investigating a fire that broke out at its 100,000 maintenance when the fire occurred. It has fin-
The refinery was in the barrel per day (bpd) oil refinery in Cape Town ished an upgrade programme worth ZAR400mn
process of restarting early on July 2, leaving two dead and seven ($23mn) that enables it to produce very low-sul-
after an overhaul.Ω injured. phur fuel for ships docking in the port of Cape
According to Astron, the fire occurred just Town.
after 04:00 local time and resulted in production Astron is majority-owned by Swiss commod-
being shut down. ities trading giant Glencore. Glencore acquired
“We will conduct a full investigation of the the company and its refinery as part of a $1bn
incident,” CEO Jonathan Molapo said in a state- deal with Chevron closed last year.
ment, noting that there was no immediate threat The fire is the latest in a series of setbacks at
to fuel supplies or surrounding communities. the plant. Annual maintenance work was pushed
The shutdown comes at South Africa reopens back this year because of coronavirus (COVID-
its economy after lockdown. The country closed 19), and Astron became embroiled in March
more than half of its refining capacity in March in a pay dispute with workers employed by its
and April following a collapse in fuel demand contractors.
caused by travel restrictions. But consumption South Africa’s largest refinery is Engen Dur-
quickly recovered in late May as the measures ban, operated by a joint venture between BP and
were eased, leading to authorities rationing fuel. Royal Dutch Shell. The pair closed it down in late
Astron’s Milnerton plant is the third-big- March and resumed operations in mid-May. All
gest of South Africa’s six refineries, accounting of the country’s other refineries, save for Astron’s,
for about 14% of national capacity. It was in the are now running. ™

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 27 09•July•2020