Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is to start building an oil products import terminal in Sharjah in June, industry sources said.

This will help meet demand for power and vehicle fuel in the poorer northern parts of the UAE.

Drivers in the northern emirates, many of whom have long suffered from mid-summer power cuts thanks to fuel shortages, have faced long queues to fill up at Adnoc's gas stations since Dubai-based Enoc pulled out last June.

Adnoc, which can sell fuel below international prices thanks to its big upstream business in Abu Dhabi, is to build the fuel import terminal in the port of Hamriyah over the next two years to meet strong demand in northern parts of the country.

"Adnoc is supplying the power stations in the northern emirates but currently they're supplying via trucks from Jebel Ali," a Hamriyah shipping industry source said.  "Once they have their facility here it will be easier.
 Hamriyah port has easy access to all of the northern emirates.
 They will supply to power stations and pump stations."     

Adnoc has been trucking fuel from the port to the southeast of Dubai to power plants in the northern parts of the UAE for years and a Gulf terminal offers a convenient bypass around busy Dubai.

Adnoc has appointed Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company (Takreer) to build the terminal in Sharjah's Hamriyah free zone that will include oil storage tanks and a jetty for oil products.     

China's Sinopec  has been awarded one engineering procurement construction (EPC) contract for the project, which includes building a terminal with 12 storage tanks capable of holding 241,000 cu m of fuel in total.

A Takreer official said Sinopec was expected to start work within two months and that the project should be completed and handed over to owner Adnoc Distribution by end-2014. - Reuters