ADNOC lets contract for Habshan gas processing complex
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) subsidiary ADNOC Gas PLC has let a contract to Petrofac Ltd. to provide engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of a new plant as part of a broader project to expand capacity at its multi-train natural gas processing complex at Habshan, in Al Gharbia, Abu Dhabi Emirate, southwestern UAE.
As part of the estimated $700-million contract, Petrofac Emirates will deliver EPC services for a planned gas compression plant comprised of three compressor trains, associated utilities, and power systems, the service provider said June 30.
Without providing further details regarding the project, Petrofac did confirm the new plant will support ADNOC’s aim of substantially increasing gas output from the onshore Habshan complex.
Featuring a combined gas processing capacity of 6.1 bcfd, the 14-train Habshan hub currently includes five plants that receive offshore gas produced from Umm Shaif Khuff and Umm Shaif reservoirs via Das Island for further processing and subsequent distribution to mostly utilities and industrial companies throughout the UAE, according to the operator’s website.
In its latest presentation to investors dated May 2023, ADNOC Gas confirmed two ongoing major projects involving the Habshan complex, including Integrated Gas Development Expansion Phase 2 (IGD-E2) and Project 5.0.
Scheduled to come onstream in 2024, IGD-E2 is designed to enable supply of an additional 370 MMcfd of gas from Das Island to Habshan to bring total gas export capacity to nearly 1.97 bcfd, ADNOC Gas said.
The separate Project 5.0 involves modifications at the Habshan 1 and Habshan 5 plants, as well as plants at Asab, Bu Hasa, and Ruwais, that will bring more than 1 bcfd of gas—including additional rich-gas volumes—onshore once completed.
Slated for phased commissioning from 2027 onwards, Project 5.0 will also simultaneously help increase regional oil production to 5 million b/d, according to the presentation.
Petrofac did not specify to which project its latest contract award is associated.
IGD-E2 details
In its most recent project description, ADNOC Gas said IGD-E2 will involve construction of grassroots installations on Das Island, including a new booster compression train, two feed-gas compression and dehydration trains, and two amine-based fuel gas treatment units.
Initiated in 2009 and completed in 2013, the initial IGD program was designed to enable the transfer of 1 bcfd of high-pressure gas from offshore Umm Shaif field, via Das Island, to Habshan and Ruwais.
In 2015, ADNOC Gas launched IGD-E1—the first-phase expansion—to boost offshore gas processing capacity by 400 MMcfd to 1.4 bcfd by 2018.
IGD-E1 specifically entailed:
- Construction of a fourth gas dehydration unit and dry gas compression aftercooler on Das Island.
- New gas pipelines, including a 117-km offshore segment and 114-km onshore segment.
- New condensate pipelines.
- Unidentified modifications to the Habshan gas processing complex (OGJ Online, Sept. 26, 2018).
Robert Brelsford | Downstream Editor
Robert Brelsford joined Oil & Gas Journal in October 2013 as downstream technology editor after 8 years as a crude oil price and news reporter on spot crude transactions at the US Gulf Coast, West Coast, Canadian, and Latin American markets. He holds a BA (2000) in English from Rice University and an MS (2003) in education and social policy from Northwestern University.
