Abu Dhabi: After three years planning, construction and charting a pipeline route through some of the most arduous desert and mountain terrain, Dolphin Energy announced Tuesday that it has finished building the Taweelah-Fujairah Pipeline (TFP).
This means that sufficient capacity is now available — 1.6 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas per day — to meet the requirements of Dolphin's largest customer, the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Company (ADWEC).
Built by Stroytransgaz (STG), the 244 kilometre TFP will deliver essential volume of natural gas to Fujairah where ADWEC has built two power stations to support industrial growth and development.
Commenting on the completion of the pipeline, Dolphin CEO Ahmad Ali Al Sayegh said: "The completion demonstrates the strength of our company on so many levels and our ability to deliver a fast track project to meet a commitment to our customer on time.
"This achievement demonstrates the exemplary levels of commitment, professionalism and cooperation of our team.
Teamwork
"Our project teams faced many challenges associated with laying a 48 inch pipeline across harsh desert and mountainous terrain. These were overcome by utilizing the extraordinary levels of teamwork and the unerring will to succeed — all in accordance with Dolphin's strict standards across quality, health, safety and environment," continued Al Sayegh.
Outlining the importance of TFP, Ebrahim Ahmad Al Ansari, General Manager, Dolphin Energy, UAE said: "The completion of the third milestone reinforces our vision to be a leading and reliable supplier of energy in a socially responsible manner and strengthens our commitment to provide natural gas to all seven emirates of the UAE."
"I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate everyone involved in the project, whose professionalism and dedication has ensured this wonderful achievement," he said.
Throughout the project, Dolphin worked with the municipalities from four emirates to perform more than 550 crossings using non-destructive techniques that kept third party assets intact.
"The completion of the pipeline could not have been reached without the cooperation of the municipalities and I would like to extend my personal gratitude to all those involved," added Al Ansari.
Dolphin also worked closely with IPIC to accommodate their oil pipeline and share a right of way through Fujairah's mountains as part of an agreed construction sequence.
Adel Ahmad Albuainain, General Manager, Dolphin Energy, Qatar added: "If ever you needed an example to illustrate the power of positive energy then surely this is it."
Milestones
The three major construction milestones were implemented to keep construction of the pipeline on track.
They were:
First milestone: 1.2km of 40" spur line was laid between the receiver of the Al Ain - Fujairah Pipeline (AFP) and ADWEC's new power and desalination plant at Qidfa, Fujairah.
Second milestone: 128km of pipeline was laid from Taweelah to a section of the AFP.
Third milestone: The remaining 116km was laid.
Project figures
- 244 kilometres of 48" pipeline and 1.2 kilometres of 40" pipeline in length
- Transportation capacity of 1.6 billion sc/f of natural gas per day
- 116,000 metric tonnes of line pipe used
- More than 20 shipments were made to deliver materials to Abu Dhabi port
- More than 7,000 trips to transport line pipe from the port to the pipe marshalling yard, located 100 kilometres out of Abu Dhabi
- More than 20,675 pipeline welds
- TFP's highest point is 680 meters above sea level
- 27 steep slopes ranging from 10 to 33 degrees
- TFP crosses four emirates
- Over 550 third party crossings were made
- Three major construction milestones
- Nine block valve stations and a receiving station built
- 174 kilometres of TFP pipeline constructed along with IPIC's oil pipeline in the shared ROW
- Pipeline passed through more than 9,800 metres of wadis and catchment areas
Profile
Dolphin Energy Limited was created to develop substantial energy projects throughout the GCC and to create long-term economic wealth and new business opportunities for GCC citizens, far into the future.
Dolphin Energy's major strategic initiative, the Dolphin Project, involves the production and processing of natural gas from Qatar's North Field, and transportation of the dry gas by sub-sea export pipeline from Qatar to the UAE. Ccustomers include Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Company, Dubai Supply Authority and others.
