Abu Dhabi: Shah gasfield will reach its full capacity of production in the second quarter of this year, earlier than expected, a top official of Al Hosn Gas which is developing the project said at a conference in Abu Dhabi On Tuesday.
The gasfield located in the remote part of Abu Dhabi began operations in January this year. The field will yield about half a billion cubic feet per day of network gas and produce vast amounts of highly valuable hydrocarbon by-products for domestic use and export.
Saif Ahmad Al Gafli, chief executive officer of Al Hosn Gas said they are currently in the process of ramping up production to full capacity and expect to achieve it during Quarter 2, 2015.
“The scale of the Shah gas development is larger than sour gas projects undertaken elsewhere in the world,” said Al Gafli.
“The project entailed constructing and successfully operating the world’s first single gas plant to process at least 1,000 million standard cubic feet of gas with H2S concentration of 23 per cent or more. The outcome of the project is being watched very keenly by industry peers.”
“I believe that our success will spur other regional gas development projects, and a slew of similar projects are already lined up by Adnoc [Abu Dhabi National Oil Company] in the UAE.”
The project is a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and US based energy company Occidental Petroleum.
The field is located about 210km south-West of Abu Dhabi.
Al Gafli said the oil prices are hovering at multi- year lows, and companies worldwide are cutting down on capital expenditures.
“At the same time, several countries in the Middle East are growing at a phenomenal pace and their demand for energy is ever-increasing, with natural gas remaining the primary energy source. In the UAE, for instance, demand for gas outstrips supply and UAE has been a net importer of natural gas for a number of years. “
The Shah gas project will contribute significantly to the energy needs of Abu Dhabi and the UAE for over 30 years.
Several challenges had to be conquered to develop the field including harsh summer conditions in a very difficult terrain with no pre-existing access roads, electricity, water or telecommunication and house peak construction manpower of 40,000.
On the upstream side, there were difficult reservoir conditions with underground temperature of about 150OC and pressure as high as 5,500 pounds per square inch.
Another sour gas project being developed by German company Wintershall near Shuweihat in the western region of Abu Dhabi is in progress.
