Adnoc opens new Taweelah gas compressor

25 November 2018
Taweelah is the UAE's entry point for the undersea Dolphin Energy pipeline

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has inaugurated its new Taweelah gas compression plant to “ensure uninterrupted gas supplies to major Abu Dhabi industries and the Northern Emirates,” the state energy giant said.

The plant at Taweelah, an industrial city on the Gulf coast 50 kilometers north of Abu Dhabi city, will use up to 450 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) of sales gas, which will be delivered by a pipeline running from Adnoc Gas Processing at Maqta.

Germany’s Siemens was selected as the main contractor for the project in mid-2016. It includes three compression trains, each capable of handling 225 million cf/d. Only two of the compression trains will be used at any one time, with the third on standby.

Taweelah is the UAE's entry point for the undersea Dolphin Energy pipeline, which imports gas from Qatar. The compressor station will increase the flexibility of the UAE’s distribution networks, allowing Adnoc to increase the amount of gas distributed to specific end users.

The compressor plant “effectively expands the national gas infrastructure for the efficient delivery of gas within the country. This will allow Adnoc to better service its customers throughout the UAE and to implement one of our key strategic imperatives, which is to provide a sustainable and economic supply of gas,” Adnoc CEO Sultan al-Jaber said in a statement.

As well as being able to produce 3.5 million barrels a day (b/d) by the end of 2018, Adnoc also produces about 10.5 billion cf/d of raw gas.

The ceremony comes less than a month after the emirate’s Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) approved Adnoc’s new integrated gas strategy to make the UAE self-sufficient in gas and eventually become a net exporter.

Earlier this month, the SPC approved Adnoc’s new streamlined business plan, which includes a five-year capital spending plan of $132.3bn between 2019-23. The plan will help Adnoc reach its goal of boosting its oil production capacity to 4 million b/d by the end of 2020 and 5 million b/d by 2030.

Another key facet of the plan is to sustain liquefied natural gas (LNG) output through to 2040. The energy giant is in the closing stages of its first-ever upstream licensing round, having offered six oil and gas blocks for partnership opportunities with international oil companies in May. Adnoc also plans to develop the Hail, Ghasha and Dalma fields to produce more than 1.5 billion cf/d.

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