Dubai: UAE oil major ADNOC is back with the mega project awards – this one for Dh2.73 billion for the full field development of the Belbazem Offshore Block. The first oil is expected in 2023.
The intention is to “maximize value” from all of Abu Dhabi’s fields as the emirate expands oil production capacity to 5 million barrels per day (mmbpd) by 2030. Located 120 kilometres northwest of Abu Dhabi city, the Belbazem Block consists of three “marginal offshore fields” - Belbazem, Umm Al Salsal, and Umm Al Dholou.
"This award demonstrates our commitment to maximize value from all of Abu Dhabi’s hydrocarbon resources for the benefit of the UAE and our partners," said Yaser Saeed Almazrouei, ADNOC Upstream Executive Director.
It will have three offshore Well Head Towers (WHTs), one in each of the Block’s three fields, interconnecting sub-sea pipelines, and cables to Zirku Island, located around 60 kilometers from Belbazem field.
The scope also covers the development of greenfield facilities for water injection, produced water treatment, gas compression, and associated utilities as well as brownfield works for tie-in to existing facilities at Zirku Island.
It was Al Yasat Petroleum Operations Company - an ADNOC subsidiary and joint venture with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) - that awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to National Petroleum Construction Company. ADNOC and CNPC hold 60 per cent and 40 per cent stakes in Al Yasat.
As part of the process leading up to the award, Al Yasat undertook a front-end engineering design (FEED) competition among the bidders. This reduced the originally scheduled tender time by up to 12 months through "removing the need for the technical bidding process for the EPC stage and enabled savings of approximately Dh697.3 million in capital expenditure".
"These important agreements strengthen ADNOC’s relationship with both as we continue to provide stable and reliable energy supplies to power Abu Dhabi’s industrial sector, enabling industry to thrive and 'Make it in the Emirates',” said Khaled Salmeen, ADNOC Executive Director, Downstream Industry, Marketing & Trading Directorate.
ADNOC has the capacity to produce 11 billion standard cubic feet (SCF) of natural gas per day and over 1 billion SCF of sour gas per day. ADNOC currently supplies over two-thirds of the UAE’s industrial sector’s power needs.
