Record-breaking year sets new goals

There is much cause for satisfaction with our performance in 2017 – financially, operationally, and strategically. Revenue reached US $16.41 billion, up 24.3 percent from 2016 despite depressed global oil prices, although there were signs of a recovery towards the end of the year.

Group fuel sales volume of 249 million barrels was also a new high, maintaining our five-year compound annual growth of more than 9.25 percent. Growth in third-party trading volume followed the same trend, reaching 170 million barrels, yet another annual record. Upstream operations produced 84,000 barrels of oil per day, and we began work on the 16.2 km Falcon pipeline expansion from Jebel Ali to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South that will carry close to 20 million litres of fuel every day when completed in 2020.

Rapid expansion of our retail network is continuing, and we are on course to achieve our target of 178 stations by 2020, up from 111 in 2016. The network sold close to 3.1 billion litres in 2017, refuelling more than 72 million vehicles, while our convenience stores had more than 45 million customer visits.

Our survey of customer satisfaction also reached new heights, rising to 83 percent from last year’s 81 percent. Since 2012, we have improved customer satisfaction by seven percentage points, an encouraging indicator for us all.

While we derive significant satisfaction from the achievements of 2017, we are very conscious of being in an era of great change – the fourth industrial revolution – which is radically altering the way we produce and consume energy. We therefore see enormous value in improving the technological efficiency of every link in our energy value chain.

Supporting Vision 2021, and the national objective to institutionalise energy efficiency, has always been an ENOC priority. This commitment has been our driving force to rationalise consumption within our operations, concentrating on our ability to drive innovative best practices and build a culture of superior energy performance.

ENOC has a proud record of global leadership in promoting sustainability. Since 2014, we have invested about US $6.8 million in sustainability initiatives, with payback achieved within 2.5 years. Already, innovation has generated net financial gain of more than US $20 million over the past five years.

Central to all our goals are our employees and their exceptional skills, knowledge and passion. Human capital is vital to our efforts in meeting the UAE’s energy needs and sustaining economic growth. Our goal is to achieve 50 percent Emiratisation by 2021, supported by major national development programmes that range from graduate level to work placement.

Given the integral role women play in the UAE’s workforce, we have instituted the ‘Women in Energy Award’ to celebrate the achievements of women in the UAE’s energy sector. The award will recognise female role models in the sector who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, and proven their capability as catalysts for change through transformational contributions to the industry.

In closing, I extend sincere gratitude to ENOC Group’s Chairman and Board of Directors for their support and guidance throughout the year. I would also like to extend my appreciation to all my colleagues throughout the Group for all their hard work and dedication in making 2017 such a memorable year.