ADNOC's Shah Gas Processing Plant Under Construction in Saudi Arabia

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Construction has begun on Abu Dhabi Gas Development Company's (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) gas processing plant at the Shah sour gas field in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The project is part of the $10 billion Shah Gas Development Project.

The Shah sour gas fields are located in the Liwa Oasis, near the Saudi Arabian border and close to the city of Mezaira'a. The Abu Dhabi Gas Development Company, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) (Abu Dhabi), has begun site preparation and is scheduled to lay the foundations for the processing plant at the end of this year.

Al Jaber Group LLC (Abu Dhabi) has nearly completed its work at Shah, which included heavy works, enabling works, earthworks, and the construction of a 27.5-kilomweter road in and outside the gas processing plant. Tecnicas Ruenidas SA (MCE:TRE) (Madrid, Spain) and Punj Lloyd Limited (BSE:532693) (Gurgaon, Haryana) form the consortium that is performing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) for the gas gathering facilities. Saipem SpA (Milan, Italy) (BIT:SPM), which has been awarded the EPC contract for the gas processing plant, sulphur recovery and product pipelines, is currently performing engineering for the gas processing plant out of the company's Sharjah, UAE office. Saipem is hoping to become the successful bidder for the EPC contract for ADNOC's sulphur recovery facilities, in addition to the sulphur recovery pipeline.

The 1 billion cubic feet per day of raw sour gas will be processed into a daily rate of 540 million cubic feet of fuel for domestic consumption, 4,400 tonnes of natural gas liquids and 35,000 barrels of condensates. The Shah Gas Development project is scheduled to begin producing gas in 2014. Construction is scheduled to start in September this year. The gas produced is aimed at meeting increased requirements for power, desalination and petrochemical plants in the UAE, particularly in Abu Dhabi.

The Abu Dhabi Gas Development Company enlisted Australian company WorleyParsons Limited (ASX:WOR) (Sydney, Australia), to perform a scoping study on transport options for sulphur extracted from the sour, or sulphur-rich, gas. The outcome of this study was that development of a railway line would be the better option than transportation of liquid sulphur by pipeline to granulation facilities in Habshan. In order to produce liquid sulphur (and convert the sulphur to a transportable substance), the sulphur must be heated to between 120 and 140 degrees Celsius (248 to 284 degrees Fahrenheit). ADNOC is bypassing this process entirely by constructing a sulpher forming, granulation and handling facility at the Shah fields along with the gas processing plant. EPC tender packages are currently being let for this component the Shah Gas Development Project.

The $11 billion rail scheme will be constructed by Union Railway Company (Abu Dhabi), with the first-phase tender process to begin at the end of this year for civil engineering of section one, the Ruwais-to-Habshan line. Section two will extend the line through to the Shah gas field near Mezaira'a. When completed in mid-2014, the 264-kilometre railway line will run from the Ruwais Port, to Al-Mirfa, Tarif, Habshan, Madinat Zayed then Mezaira'a. When the sulpher-granulation plant is in operation, the train journey will begin in Mezaira'a at the Shah field and end at the Ruwais Port. The entire Shah Gas Development Project is expected to come onstream in the second or third quarter of 2014 to supply both natural gas and granulated sulpher.

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