The six-month study - called operability and vulnerability of trains 1 and 2 - will involve carrying out a techno-economic analysis of the ageing production units and evaluating the best available technology for a new LNG train. The contract will be carried out in two phases.

Following extensive debottlencking, the Das island liquefaction plant - comprising three trains - has total capacity of 6 million t/y of LNG. Trains 1 and 2 were commissioned in 1977; train 3 started production in 1994.

Established in 1973 to convert gas extracted from Abu Dhabi's offshore oil fields, Adgas is a joint venture of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC - 70 per cent), Mitsui & Company of Japan (15 per cent), the UK's BP(10 per cent) and Totalof France (5 per cent).

Along with the proposed LNG expansion, Adgas also plans an upgrade of the existing production facilities. An award is due for the $15 million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to upgrade the filtration systems of its LNG trains. Four contractors submitted technical and commercial bids in late November for the contract.