Contracting heavyweights eye sweet rewards at huge Adnoc sour gas expansion project
Abu Dhabi's ongoing gas developments are expected to deliver additional total production of more than 3 Bcfd of gas by the end of the decade
Multiple leading international contractors are queuing up for work on a sizeable gas plant expansion project from Adnoc Sour Gas — a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Occidental of the US.
The expansion of Abu Dhabi’s Shah Gas terminal is one of several key gas developments in the emirate , which is looking to significantly scale up gas production in the next few years.
At present, Adnoc can produce about 11.5 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas, which includes a sour gas processing capacity of up to 1.5 Bcfd.
The emirate’s ongoing gas developments are expected to deliver additional total production of more than 3 Bcfd of gas by the end of the decade, Upstream understands.
Adnoc Sour Gas is now aiming to engage multiple engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) players for an integrated development project, which envisages boosting Shah terminal’s capacity to 1.85 Bcfd and developing a key carbon dioxide recovery facility for the gas plant, two people familiar with the development told Upstream.
“Contracting players are being roped in for the project’s early engagement phase,” one person noted, adding initial work would strart during the project’s ongoing front-end engineering design phase before leading to a final EPC contract award.
Those likely to be involved during the early engagement phase include Italy’s Saipem, Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas, Indian engineering giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Abu Dhabi’s NMDC Energy, China’s CPECC, South Korean player Samsung E&A and Greek contractor Archirodon, another person said.
While contractors are likely to initiate some early works during the project’s ongoing FEED phase, a final investment decision for the Shah Gas expansion could still be months away and would depend on the economics behind the development, one source close to the bid process told Upstream.
The source argued that while EPC contractors could be engaged by Adnoc later this year, the progress to its EPC phase could even stretch until next year.
Adnoc declined to comment on the works, while Occidental Petroleum had not reponded to Upstream’s requestr for comment by the time of publishing.
Previous development phase
Shah Arab field
The Shah gas plant, located in the Liwa area about 200 kilometres southwest of Abu Dhabi, receives and processes fluids from the nearby Shah Arab sour gas field.
Sour gas projects in the United Arab Emirates are technically challenging and capital-intensive.
Some of the UAE’s sour gas fields have a high sulphur content that makes the gas highly corrosive and difficult to process.
However, recent technological advances have cleared the way for several complex sour gas projects in the emirate, including the giant Hail & Ghasha development, which is currently in its development phase.
Adnoc has a 60% stake in Adnoc Sour Gas, with the remaining 40% stake held by Occidental.
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