Adnoc’s $3.5bn Crude Flexibility Project (CFP) upgrades to the 417,000 b/d Ruwais West refinery enabled it to move away from primarily processing light sour Murban crude (40°API, 0.7% Sulfur) and to refine heavier barrels instead, yielding improved margins. The project was commissioned in late 2023 and the story of 2024 was one of increasing flows of Adnoc’s Upper Zakum (34° API, 1.75% Sulfur), and non-system crudes, being refined at Ruwais (MEES, 10 January 2025).
However, instead of yielding greater margins the surge in exports of Adnoc’s flagship Murban crude tanked prices for the grade, exacerbating a dynamic driven by increased availability of light US crudes. Murban’s inclusion in the Platts Dubai basket also meant that the grade’s drop in value had a distorting effect on regional medium-sour crude prices. (CONTINUED - 810 WORDS)
