Khadem Abdullah Al Qubaisi, director-general of the International Petroleum Investment Company, or Ipic, disclosed that the company is planning to conduct technical and technological studies to set up the biggest oil refinery in Fujairah. The cost of the project may go up to Dh5 billion.

Addressing a Press conference on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the Abu Dhabi-Habshan oil pipeline project, Al Qubaisi said that working on mega project is expected to begin in second half of next year.

He said the Abu Dhabi-Habshan oil pipeline project took four years of uninterrupted work for completion.

“The project cost about Dh4.2 billion. It is one of the great projects of Ipic. It is considered the first project carried out by the company inside the country, as the company has investment shares in as many as 15 countries,” Al Qubaisi said.

The concept of the project was initially inspired by General Shaikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, after which Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Presidential Affairs and Chairman of Ipic, followed up the idea and conducted specialised studies on the projects.

Al Qubaisi said the project may pave the way for economic and social developments in Fujairah as it will create nearly 300 vacancies for UAE nationals in its first phase.

According to Eng Saeed Al Meheribi, director of Ipic’s Projects Department, the new project includes eight reservoirs to store crude oil.

“Each reservoir can accommodate over eight million barrels oil,” he said.

He said the oil pipeline is more than 400km long beginning at the Habshan area, south of Abu Dhabi, passing through Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah and ending at Fujairah.

The project, he said, will export 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day through Fujairah, and it will be reaching 1.8 million barrels at times when demands on crude oil are more than usual.

“Ipic is currently intending to set up a new oil refinery in Pakistan, and another oil refinery will be built in Fujairah as well,” he said.