Vitol Group, the international oil marketing company and commodities trader, has bought a majority stake in the former Fujariah refinery. The agreement was signed on Thursday by Vitol President Ian Taylor and the Fujairah government.
Taylor said his group was eager to partner the government "to consolidate the emirate's strategic role in the regional and international energy markets."
Neither Vitol nor the official Emirates News Agency (WAM) said exactly how big a stake Vitol had acquired, nor how much had been paid.
The Fujairah government took over the refinery in 2000 after the former owners, Metro Oil Corporation, were declared bankrupt.
The refinery has not been processing crude oil and part of the site has been used as a bunker storage facility.
When Vitol emerged as a potential buyer last month, industry observers said the group might be interested in acquiring the plant to establish a "foothold" in the region. Fujairah is a major bunker hub, by some estimates second in size only to Singapore.
The Fujairah Refinery is currently the only facility with refining ability on the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates.
WAM said it had two units with a refining capacity of 82,000 barrels per day (bpd) and storage capacity of 460,000 cubic meters. It said the site was large enough to allow the plant to expand.
"The refinery has access to the ultra-modern bunkering facilities and services of the Fujairah seaport. The seaport has three quays with a total length of 840 m and 20 gantries for loading and unloading fuel," it said.
Dr. Salem Abdo Khalil, Technical Advisor to the Fujairah government, said in 2005: "Our ambition is not only to resume refinery operations, but also upgrade and modernize the facilities to improve its technical and economical viability."
There was no comment from Vitol on Friday beyond the brief statement from Taylor and confirmation that it had acquired a majority interest in the Fujairah refining facility.
Taylor said his group was eager to partner the government "to consolidate the emirate's strategic role in the regional and international energy markets."
Neither Vitol nor the official Emirates News Agency (WAM) said exactly how big a stake Vitol had acquired, nor how much had been paid.
The Fujairah government took over the refinery in 2000 after the former owners, Metro Oil Corporation, were declared bankrupt.
The refinery has not been processing crude oil and part of the site has been used as a bunker storage facility.
When Vitol emerged as a potential buyer last month, industry observers said the group might be interested in acquiring the plant to establish a "foothold" in the region. Fujairah is a major bunker hub, by some estimates second in size only to Singapore.
The Fujairah Refinery is currently the only facility with refining ability on the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates.
WAM said it had two units with a refining capacity of 82,000 barrels per day (bpd) and storage capacity of 460,000 cubic meters. It said the site was large enough to allow the plant to expand.
"The refinery has access to the ultra-modern bunkering facilities and services of the Fujairah seaport. The seaport has three quays with a total length of 840 m and 20 gantries for loading and unloading fuel," it said.
Dr. Salem Abdo Khalil, Technical Advisor to the Fujairah government, said in 2005: "Our ambition is not only to resume refinery operations, but also upgrade and modernize the facilities to improve its technical and economical viability."
There was no comment from Vitol on Friday beyond the brief statement from Taylor and confirmation that it had acquired a majority interest in the Fujairah refining facility.