DUBAI-State energy giant Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and oil firm Cepsa have awarded a contract to design a linear alkylbenzene plant in Abu Dhabi to Spanish engineering company Tecnicas Reunidas TRE.MC , ADNOC said on Tuesday.

The plant, to be built in the Ruwais Derivatives Park, will be the first derivative unit developed under ADNOC’s 165 billion dirham ($45 billion) Ruwais downstream investment programme.

ADNOC's statement did not give the value of the front-end engineering design contract.

The plant making linear alkylbenzene - used to make detergents - will be jointly operated by ADNOC and Cepsa, a Spain-based energy company owned by Abu Dhabi state investor Mubadala.

When it comes on-stream, the plant will produce 225,000 tonnes of normal paraffins per year and 150,000 tonnes of linear alkylbenzene per year, the statement said.

(Reporting by Tuqa Khalid; editing by Jason Neely and Adrian Croft) ((Tuqa.Khalid@thomsonreuters.com; +971521047568;))