On October 20, 2026, at the Abu Dhabi Presidential Palace, during the UAE France Business Dialogue, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and French President Macron witnessed the signing of the agreement. ADNOC Refinery has signed two formal contracts with French engineering giant Desinip Energy, covering the enhancement of refining capacity and sustainable aviation fuel projects. From the Ruwais Refinery to the SAF production facility, this long-standing partnership has once again deepened its binding on the basis of LNG cooperation, marking ADNOC's SAF layout from feasibility study to engineering design and construction execution stage.

Dual contract landing at the Presidential Palace

At the UAE France Business Dialogue, both companies signed two formal contracts and four memorandums of understanding, covering the two major fields of energy and artificial intelligence. The most closely watched energy sector official contracts have all fallen into the hands of ADNOC Refinery and Desinip Energy, respectively for the refinery capacity enhancement project and the sustainable aviation fuel project. The specific amounts, installation locations, construction scope, and production schedule of the two contracts have not been disclosed by the Abu Dhabi Media Office. ADNOC Gas and Schneider Electric have signed a memorandum of understanding to focus on advanced technology assessment and energy system operational efficiency improvement.

Further expansion of refining capacity

The core asset of ADNOC Refinery, the Ruwais Refinery, is located in Ruwais Industrial City, approximately 245 kilometers west of Abu Dhabi. Currently, it has a processing capacity of approximately 930000 barrels per day and is one of the largest and most technologically advanced refineries in the world. The overall crude oil processing capacity managed by ADNOC Refinery is approximately 1.6 million barrels per day. Previously, ADNOC had announced multiple downstream capacity expansion plans, including a crude oil flexibility project with an investment of approximately $3.5 billion, adding 420000 barrels per day of heavy sulfur-containing crude oil processing capacity. Currently, the project progress has been completed by approximately 73%; Plan to add a third refining unit in Ruwais, increasing the total refining capacity of the complex by more than 65%, with a target of 1.5 million barrels per day; And a downstream investment blueprint worth approximately 45 billion US dollars. Keywords: Middle East News Network, Refining Capacity, Sustainable Aviation Fuel

SAF Layout Acceleration

Sustainable aviation fuel is the core path for decarbonization in civil aviation, and ADNOC's pace in this track has significantly accelerated. In January 2025, the Ruwais refinery obtained ISCC EU and CORSIA PLUS certifications and officially began commercial supply of SAF; In February 2025, engineering company Wood validated ADNOC's ability to produce low-carbon aviation fuel through co processing; In July 2025, ADNOC will allocate $23 billion in decarbonization funds for sustainable fuels such as CCUS, renewable energy, and SAF; In December 2025, a memorandum of understanding was signed with MENA Biofuels to secure the purchase rights for the first dedicated SAF factory in the United Arab Emirates. At present, ADNOC's SAF route adopts a dual track parallel strategy. In the near future, the existing refinery equipment in Ruwais will be used to produce low-carbon aviation fuel by co processing waste edible oil and other raw materials. In the medium and long term, feasibility studies for large-scale dedicated SAF factories will be jointly promoted with BP, Etihad, and others. The SAF contract signed with Desinip Energy this time is likely to mark ADNOC's SAF layout officially entering the engineering design and construction execution stage from the feasibility study and co processing verification stage. Desinib Energy has previously accumulated engineering experience in the Ruwais low-carbon LNG project and the SkyNRG SAF project in the Netherlands. This dual contract is a second deepening of the binding between the two parties on the basis of LNG cooperation.Editor/Gao Xue