ADNOC Gas taps Worley for gas processing expansion project
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.’s (ADNOC) majority owned ADNOC Gas PLC has let a contract to Worley Ltd. subsidiary Worley Engineering Pty. Ltd. to deliver front-end engineering and design (FEED) services for the operator’s proposed plan to add natural gas processing capacity as part of its onshore Bab Gas Cap (BGC) project in Abu Dhabi.
Worley’s scope of design under the Dec. 4 FEED contract award covers development of a series of new units for the BGC project that, together, aim to boost ADNOC Gas’ existing systemwide gas processing capacity of about 10.2 bcfd by more than 1.8 bcfd, or 20%, in line with the operator’s plan to achieve an overall gas processing capability of 13.2 bcfd by 2029 to help unlock value of UAE gas resources and support domestic gas self-sufficiency, Worley and ADNOC Gas said separately.
ADNOC BGC processing complex
In a November presentation, ADNOC Gas said the BGC project—which will be designed to optimize production of natural gas liquids (NGL), condensate, sales gas, and sulfur—specifically will include:
- Two trains for acid gas removal, dehydration, and NGL recovery.
- One acid gas enrichment unit.
- One sulfur recovery unit.
- One tail gas treatment unit.
Alongside incorporating installations for carbon dioxide (CO2) capture featuring a yet-to-be-identified advanced CO2-capture technology, the project will also involve construction of injection installations and associated utilities, according to the operator.
The greenfield development additionally will include design and routing of new product pipelines for the efficient transfer of liquid sulfur to the 3.5-million tonne/year (tpy) Habshan sulfur granulation plant at ADNOC’s Al Ruwais industrial complex in Al Ruwais Industrial City, Al Dhafrah, Abu Dhabi, ADNOC Gas said.
Slated for final investment decision in 2026 at an estimated cost of more than $4 billion, ADNOC Gas said the BGC processing complex will receive its feedstock of rich gas from Bab field, 160 km southwest of Abu Dhabi city, following recently completed upgrades that have enabled the simultaneous development of oil and gas within the field and unlocked a potential production of 1.5 bcfd of gas and 80,000 b/d of condensate (OGJ Online, Nov. 13, 2019).
UAE gas demand
If approved, the BGC project would reach completion after 2029, the operator said.
Upon announcing its latest quarterly earnings on Nov. 11, ADNOC Gas said it planned to increase its 2025-29 capex to $15 billion from an earlier $13 billion to help meet projected growth in UAE gas demand.
The operator said its major focus until 2029 will be on the development and delivery of three large projects under construction, including the:
- Maximization of ethane recovery and monetization (MERAM) project, which will deliver up to 3.4 million tpy of ethane and NGL production capacity (OGJ Online, Aug. 9, 2023).
- Integrated Gas Development Expansion Phase 2 (IGD-E2) project, which will have a gas processing capacity of 370 MMcfd (OGJ Online, June 30, 2023).
- Ruwais LNG project, which will have the capacity to produce up to 9.6 million tpy of low-carbon LNG (OGJ Online, Nov. 11, 2024).
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.
