Dubai approves $35 billion new airport five times bigger than DXB

Dubai on April 28 approved the construction of a new, $35 billion airport, five times bigger than the existing Dubai International Airport, or DXB, in a move set to create a new center for jet fuel demand with ENOC Group ready with a new pipeline.

The Al Maktoum International Airport spread over 70 km will have five passenger terminals housing 400 aircraft gates for 260 million travelers, Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said on X, formerly Twitter. Annual cargo capacity will be 12 million mt/year. It will replace DXB within 10 years, the ruler said.

"Dubai will be the world's airport, its port, its urban hub, and its new global center," he said.

Dubai's state-owned ENOC operates out of 300 airports in 25 countries, through its ENOC Aviation, which provides about 40% of jet fuel demand at DXB, one of the world's busiest airports for international travel. The jet fuel is supplied through two pipelines linking its storage terminals in Jebel Ali in Dubai to the airport. In 2022, ENOC completed the construction of its 16.2-km pipeline linking its Horizon Emirates Jebel Ali Petroleum storage terminal in Jebel Ali to the Maktoum airport. The pipeline can carry 2,000 cu m/hour of jet fuel to Maktoum, meeting demand through at least 2050, ENOC has estimated. Its 213,000 b/d refinery at Jebel Ali produces LPG, gasoline blendstock, jet fuel, fuel oil and diesel.

The UAE's jet fuel/kerosene production was estimated at 227,000 b/d in April, and is forecast to climb to 283,000 b/d by December 2025, according to the Middle East refined products short-term outlook for April 2024 by S&P Global Commodity Insights. Jet fuel FOB Persian Gulf was $94.97/b on April 26, down from a recent high of $103.39/b on April 5, according to Platts assessments by S&P Global.