Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has awarded engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts totalling $1.46bn for the Dalma sour gas field development project.

MEED reported in September that Abu Dhabi’s National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) and Spain-headquartered Tecnicas Reunidas had emerged as the favourites to win the offshore and onshore packages of the Dalma gas project, respectively.

The Dalma field is part of Abu Dhabi’s Ghasha concession, which is the world’s largest offshore sour gas development. Producing gas from the asset is crucial for Adnoc to achieve its goal of self-sufficiency in gas for Abu Dhabi by 2030.

Package A of the two Dalma EPC contracts was awarded to NPCC and is valued at $514m. The scope of work on the package covers the EPC of four offshore wellhead towers, pipelines and umbilicals in the Hair Dalma, Satah and Bu Haseer fields.

Package B, awarded to a consortium led by Tecnicas Reunidas that includes Abu Dhabi-based Target Engineering, is valued at $950m. The scope of work entails the EPC of gas conditioning facilities for gas dehydration, compression and associated utilities on Arzanah Island, located 80 kilometers from Abu Dhabi city.

Seventy per cent of the award value will flow back into the UAE’s economy under Adnoc’s In-Country Value (ICV) localisation programme.

Execution of both EPC contracts are expected to be completed in 2025. The project will enable the Dalma field to produce about 340 million standard cubic feet a day (cf/d) of natural gas.

Adnoc said it has advanced orders for long-lead items and completed seven development wells at Dalma, to enable smooth and expedited project delivery.

In the Ghasha concession area, three artificial islands have already been completed and enabling works are ongoing.

Gas production from the concession is expected to start in 2025, ramping up to produce more than 1.5 billion cf/d before the end of the decade.

The offshore Dalma field is located 190 kilometers northwest of Abu Dhabi. The Ghasha concession comprises the Hail, Ghasha, Hair Dalma, Satah, Bu Haseer, Nasr, Sarb, Shuwaihat and Mubarraz fields.

Adnoc holds the majority 55 per cent stake in the Ghasha concession. The other stakeholders are Italian energy major Eni with 25 per cent; Germany’s Wintershall Dea with 10 per cent; and Austria’s OMV and Russia’s Lukoil, each with 5 per cent.