After Jebel Ali storage hub, AquaChemie gets into specialty chemical manufacturing in Abu Dhabi

Dubai: It sure didn’t take long specialty chemicals company AquaChemie to add manufacturing capabilities to its existing storage operations.

Even if the manufacturing base is in Abu Dhabi’s Kezad industrial cluster than at Dubai’s Jebel Ali, which is where the storage facility is.

“Our Kezad facility is only 35 minutes away from our Jebel Ali site, making it a strategically viable location,” said Anandkumar, founder and Managing Director of AquaChemie.

The facility, completed in a 12-month timeframe and costing $25 million, will oversee chemicals required for the oil and gas upstream industries.

On whether it was less expensive to import specialty chemicals than produce them locally, Anandkumar said: “Unlike commodity chemicals, specialty chemicals are not evaluated purely based on unit price. “Instead, the focus is on the total cost of the solution. While the unit price of specialty chemicals may be higher, their efficiency and lower consumption rates often result in a lower overall cost for the end user.”

Now, with the Kezad facility, Aquachemie’s overall investments in the UAE over the last 4 years is adding up to $85 million.

The oil and gas upstream chemicals target offtake from ‘ADNOC and international oilfield service companies,” the official added.

“Additionally, this facility enables us to serve the specialty chemicals needs of the paints, coatings, and construction industries. Being located in mainland UAE, Kezad also offers commercial advantages, particularly in terms of exports within the GCC.”

Work on the Jebel Ali facility was launched late 2020 despite all the distractions from the pandemic.

The bulk liquids terminal was meant to ‘boost the growing petrochemical trade between manufacturers and end-users’ across the Middle East and outside. It was commissioned in 2023.

The chemical terminal covers 20,000 square metres and located some 500 metres from the Chemical Berth 4 in Jebel Ali Port. The facility is linked by five SS pig-gable jetty pipelines, thus ‘making it one of the most functional and versatile bulk liquid terminals in the GCC’.

With storage volume at over 34,000 cubic metres, the 26 tanks can handle over 100 UN Class 3 and 8 chemicals.

“Within a year of its launch, we expanded our capabilities by adding a small-scale manufacturing and blending infrastructure at the same site,” said Anandkumar.

“Currently, we do not have refining capacity at Jebel Ali. We have been actively seeking additional land adjacent to our facility to accommodate future expansion plans. We are looking at securing the required space and remain in discussions with JAFZA and continue to explore opportunities for refining in the region.”