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 |
