ACT builds in Abu Dhabi

WHERE IT’S NEEDED

CONSTRUCTION • A NEW TERMINAL IS TAKING SHAPE THAT WILL SERVE THE BURGEONING PETROCHEMICAL SECTOR IN THE UAE AND ALSO ENABLE THE EXPORT OF GREEN FUELS AND GASES

“IT’S A BOLD move,” says Mike Cromack, commercial manager of Arabian Chemical Terminals Abu Dhabi (ACTAD), speaking about the decision to invest in a greenfield bulk liquids storage terminal in the deepwater Khalifa Port area. Scheduled to open for commercial operations in July this year, it will be Abu Dhabi’s first commercial storage and distribution terminal and will, in its first phase, offer 100,000 m3 of tank capacity in 40 tanks.

Sited next to the Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi (KEZAD), mid-way between the cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai and away from residential and commercial areas, ACTAD was provided with a blank canvas where it could design a facility to meet the current and future needs of the region’s industries. It also has an unrestricted licence, allowing it to handle all types of product.

“It’s new – but we’re not novices,” Cromack says. While it is a very small team at present, it has “a wealth of experience,” he adds, both in the logistics sector and the chemical industry. By the time the terminal opens in July, it will employ around 60 people, a significant number of whom will be locals – an important factor actively promoted through the emirate’s In Country Value (ICV) certification programme, which recognises and rewards business that conduct activities with locally registered entities and create jobs for local people.

WHERE ARE WE NOW? Work started on phase 1 of ACTAD in May 2021, with Bilfinger Tebodin Middle East as project management consultant and local firm Amistad as the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning partner. Phase 1 covers a 50,000-m2 plot and has a private berth of 250 metres alongside with a 16-metre draft, as well as smaller tender/ bunkering berths.

The storage tanks are going up fast in the four bunded areas, each of which has ten 2,500-m3 tanks. One has stainless steel tanks, one has insulated and heated stainless steel tanks, a third has carbon steel tanks and the last has carbon steel tanks with internal floating roofs and enhanced firefighting system. This last is rated Class 1, with all others Class 3.

In designing the terminal, ACTAD listened to its potential customers and went beyond the normal to eliminate the risk of product contamination. Each of the 40 tanks comprises its own ecosystem, with dedicated pipes and pumps all the way from the berth to the tank and from the tank to the truck loading gantry. The hose tower at the berth has 40 dedicated lines, so each of the 40 tanks is individually connected to a vessel calling at the berth, with no common parts.. The design also allows the site to load tank containers, intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) and drums.

In addition, ACTAD will offer a comprehensive range of marine services, including brokerage, slop reception and disposal, degassing and stevedoring; an independent laboratory for testing, inspection and certification will be provided on-site in a unit operated by Bureau Veritas.

All these services and capabilities will serve industrial demand for the import and export of

liquids and gases, as well as strategic or hub storage. It is expected to handle a wide range of basic and specialty chemicals and hydrocarbons such as base oils, vegoils and, potentially, liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs).

AND THAT’S NOT ALL That is, though, not the end of it. A second phase of construction is already being prepared, which will add a further 150,000 m2 of space surrounding the first phase. This will allow ACTAD to provide more extensive capacity to handle gases as well as ammonia and hydrogen, and is already attracting a great deal of interest from industrial companies setting up in KEZAD. Multiple projects are under appraisal, Cromack reports, and based on the needs of tenants of KEZAD it is likely that more complex products will be handled.

The UAE is committed to green electricity generation, having plenty of potential for solar power, and Cromack anticipates establishing the ability to handle truly green and blue ammonia exports. He is currently working on attracting business for both phases of development and says that some contracts are already in place. After two years of concentrated effort to get ACTAD to commissioning, he is, he says, “eager to get going”. act-uae.com

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