NEWS ROOM  
 

:: Company News

 
     
  ARCHIVE  
  :: 2003  
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
 

COMPANY NEWS

 
     
 

ENOC in $430 million shipping JV

Posted: 06 May 2004

GEM – Gulf Energy Maritime PJSC – is a new $430m joint venture shipping company

The venture, headquartered in Dubai, is 35 per cent owned by Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), 30 per cent by Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), 30 per cent by Oman Oil Company and 5 per cent by Thales, under the UAE Offset Programme.

With an initial fleet of two Double Hull Panamax vessels and four new building of Panamax size, being built by Hyundai Heavy Industries and to be delivered by 2005, the company is set to fill an expanding global niche for independent clean petroleum transportation, as global shipping laws outlaw existing single hulled ships.

ENOC Group Chief Executive and Board Member Hussain Sultan said: “With the launch of this clean petroleum product tanker company, we are heralding a new era in environmentally friendly, high quality and commercially-driven shipping in the region.”

GEM will initially only transport ‘clean petroleum products and easy chemicals’, including naphtha, kerosene, MTBE, methanol, jet fuel, MOGAS, and other hydrocarbons.

“Gulf Energy Maritime will be a reliable transporter of clean petroleum products and easy chemicals, operating in an environmentally aware and commercially viable manner,” said Sultan .

“We will certainly enjoy market advantage with our fleet of brand new double-hulled ships, and with additional modern acquisitions we will be among the top independent tanker companies in the world. This is a great window of opportunity for us to assume a leading role in the global shipping lanes,” he added.

Gulf Energy Maritime intends to operate vessels in a portfolio of long, medium term and spot charters to minimise risk while benefiting from spot market spikes.

Industry commentators speaking at events such as Intertanko – held for the first time in Dubai this year – predicted that Dubai will assume increasing importance as a global shipping hub, and the four companies behind the enormous joint venture clearly believe this prediction.

“The GEM investment represents a double first for IPIC, marking IPIC’s first participation in the shipping sector, and its first investment in a UAE-based joint venture. IPIC is convinced that the combination of a compelling business model, a strong shareholder group and top quality management will bring enduring success to GEM,” said Mohamed N. Al Khaily, Managing Director, IPIC.

GEM will be staffed by industry professionals and an experienced team, with a strong emphasis on recruiting and training GCC national employees. GEM will aggressively target international best practice standards for every phase of its operations. The first Chairman will be Hussain Sultan.

“The joint venture will operate under a prudent financial strategy” explained Sultan. “Similarly, a formal risk management strategy will be adhered to in areas of financial exposure. Our dividend policy will be conservative with priority being given to long term business growth for shareholders.

GEM will be managed as a stand-alone entity independent of share holders. “Shareholders however, have access to significant amounts of potential cargoes,” said Sultan. “This, coupled with access to competitive finance and the fact that we will be operating from the tax free low cost environment of the UAE, are competitive edges that Gulf Energy Maritime has when benchmarked against other industry players.”

Oman Oil Company welcomed participation in Gulf Energy Maritime.

“This project is in line with the clear objectives OOC has set out to achieve from its international investments. Our interest in this particular venture is strongly linked to the growth in the production of clean projects in the region and the subsequent need for more independent shipping capacity. We are also excited about the opportunity to partner with two well respected GCC companies in ENOC and IPIC as well as with Thales of France,” said Ahmed Al Wahaibi, Deputy CEO, Oman Oil Company (OOC).

Xavier Thuriot, Chairman & CEO of Thales International Middle East, said “The participation of Thales in this project is fully in line with our long-term commitment to the UAE. Through the country’s offset programme, we are proud to contribute to the creation of a UAE company able to provide competitive solutions at international standards.”

The UAE Offsets Group (UOG) has also signalled its commitment to the project. “We support and promote all joint ventures that play a role in developing and diversifying the UAE economy and bring new expertise and technology to the country,” said Hatem Fawzy, Director, Offsets Ventures.

GEM is already eyeing future opportunities, with Hussain Sultan hinting that the company may well transport LPG in future. It plans to expand its fleet, growing it with the business as and when opportunities arise.

Founder financiers of this world class company are Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Emirates Bank and Mashreqbank. Legal counsel involved are Hadef Al Dhahiri and Associates and Norton Rose.

ABOUT ENOC
Established in 1983 as a wholly-owned company of the Government of Dubai, ENOC aims to promote the interests of its shareholders through the development of further downstream and upstream activities in the oil and gas sector and beyond and to encourage the economic diversification of Dubai and the rest of the UAE.

Leadership and guidance of ENOC are provided by its Chairman, H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance and Industry.

ENOC actively participates in an increasingly broad range of business ventures. Its joint ventures with major international companies allow partners to pool their technology, know-how and expertise along with their resources to further their commercial success.

Since its inception, ENOC has been guided by its philosophy of quality and professional management based on modern business concepts for commercial success and sustainable growth. Today it is poised to engineer a new and challenging period of growth and diversity.

ENOC’s mission is to be the reliable Energy Partner of Choice in each sector in which it operates.

IPIC
IPIC is wholly-owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi and was established in 1984 to invest in the hydrocarbons and related sectors outside of Abu Dhabi. IPIC operates on commercial principles with the objective of maximising the long run shareholder value of the company. This is achieved by vigorous participation at the strategic level in every company in IPIC’s portfolio, currently valued at over US $3 billion. Included in IPIC’s portfolio are a controlling stake in Hyundai Oilbank Co. Ltd. (HDO), the Korean refiner/marketer, and a 20 per cent stake in OMV Aktiengesellschaft (OMV), the Austrian National Oil Company. IPIC is committed to aggressive future expansion, by adding further high-quality investments to its portfolio. IPIC brings reassuring ownership and a track record of successful ethical investing to every investment which it undertakes. IPIC is run by an independent Board of Directors, under the Chairmanship of H.H. Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Oman Oil Company
Oman Oil Company (OOC) is a commercial company 100 per cent owned by the Government of the Sultanate of Oman. The company was created in 1992 to give the Government a vehicle for pursuing investment opportunities in the energy sector both inside and outside Oman.

Through participation in energy and energy-related projects, OOC plays a critical role in the Sultanate’s efforts to diversify the Omani economy and to generate Omani and foreign private sector investments. In Oman, OOC has interests in numerous projects that are either in operation, under construction or under development, including projects in gas transmission, petroleum retailing, refining, petrochemicals and aluminium smelting. Outside of Oman, OOC has interests in exploration and production, crude oil pipelines and petroleum product logistics.

Thales
Thales is an international electronics and systems group, serving defence, aerospace and security markets. The group employs 62,000 people worldwide and generated revenues of € 10.6 billion in 2003. Thales has been present in the United Arab Emirates for more than 30 years, addressing both the defence and the civilian security markets. Thales has supplied, for example, military radios, ground-to-air communication systems, air defence systems, on-board electronic systems for fighter aircraft and warships, as well as civilian air traffic control systems for UAE airports and thousands of electronic payment terminals to UAE banks. Thales has been involved in the UAE Offset Programme since its inception in the early 90s and since then has developed several projects in a variety of industries.

UAE Offsets Group
UOG was set up in early 1992 and has so far set up more than 20 successful projects with combined assets of over AED 5 billion (US $1.3 billion). Major examples are Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB), the National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed), Oasis International Leasing Company (Al Waha) and the International Fish Farming Company (Asmak). All these ventures have thousands of UAE nationals as shareholders and have brought new technologies and expertise to the country.

For more information see www.enoc.com

Posted by Richard Price, Editor Pipeline Magazine

Information supplied by companies or PR agencies who are responsible for content. Send press releases to info@pipelinedubai.com

 
     

 

© Copyright 2002. Reflex Publishing ME FZ LLC. All rights reserved.
Pipeline Magazine, PO Box 53777, Dubai Media City, Dubai, UAE
Tel: +971 4 3910 830 | Fax: +971 4 390 4570 | E-mail - info@pipelinedubai.com