Joint venture builds a local LSAW champion
Al Gharbia Pipe Company (AGPC) was established in May 2015 as a three-way joint venture between Senaat (now part of ADQ), Japan’s JFE Steel, and Marubeni Itochu Steel (MISI). Commercial operations began in 2019, giving the UAE a domestic producer of large-diameter LSAW carbon steel pipes aligned with national industrial policy. AGPC’s plant is located in Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD), positioning it close to export logistics and ADNOC’s upstream and midstream projects.
The venture combines JFE Steel’s LSAW manufacturing technology with MISI’s global trading and oil and gas client access, underpinned by ADQ’s push to deepen local industrial capacity. Chief executive Noritsugu Mifune frames the company as a direct contributor to “Make it in the Emirates” and Operation 300bn, signalling its role in import substitution and domestic value creation within the energy supply chain.
By 2025, AGPC had produced a cumulative 700,000 metric tons of steel pipe, reflecting a ramp-up from initial operations to meaningful scale. AGPC describes itself as a large-scale producer of LSAW pipes for domestic and international markets. This capacity is focused on carbon steel LSAW pipes, with a portfolio covering diameters from 18 to 60 inches, wall thicknesses from 6.4mm to 44.5mm and lengths between 9 and 13 metres.
Industry 4.0 edge and energy transition demand
AGPC reports that it is implementing Industry 4.0 practices and advanced digitalisation at its plant. The company highlights its use of advanced digital systems for real-time monitoring, production planning and integration of manufacturing and testing processes. This approach allows dynamic adjustment of schedules in response to actual conditions, which supports high utilisation while maintaining quality standards across complex specifications.
Mifune links this digital capability directly to market conditions. He notes that oil price volatility, globalised supply chains and shifting energy transition pressures have made planning more complex for pipe suppliers and their customers. As a result, resilience and flexible operations have become central differentiators. AGPC’s focus on automation, data and process control is designed to reduce delivery risk and meet tighter project timelines across Europe, Africa and Asia, where it accesses clients through the UAE’s role as a trade hub.
At the same time, the company is positioning itself for decarbonised energy systems. Steel pipes remain core to traditional oil and gas networks, but they are also critical to emerging infrastructure for hydrogen transport, carbon capture and storage, and wind power. AGPC produces large-diameter carbon steel LSAW pipes compliant with API 5L standards, including grades suited for sour service. These products are engineered for environments containing hydrogen sulphide and other corrosive elements common in advanced energy and CCS applications.
The plant operates to international standards such as API specifications and ISO quality frameworks and is qualified by ADNOC. This standards base supports its bid to serve both domestic projects and export markets where technical and compliance thresholds are rising.
For investors, Al Gharbia Pipe now offers a clearer signal: the UAE is building a digitally enabled, export-ready heavy industrial platform around its energy transition strategy. The next markers to watch will be how AGPC’s capacity is absorbed into regional hydrogen, CCS and offshore wind projects, and whether the UAE–Japan partnership can further expand LSAW capabilities to capture that growth. This article is based in part on reporting by Arab News Japan.
