The Shah sulphur station and pipelines project is part of a $10bn development undertaken by Al-Hosn Gas at the Shah gas field, located 210 kilometres south-west of Abu Dhabi.

The project has the capacity to handle and change to solid granules 11,000 tonnes a day of liquid sulphur, which is recovered through the processing of 1 billion cubic feet a day of sour gas at the nearby, newly commissioned Al-Hosn gas plant.

Numerous challenges were faced during the scheme’s execution, including the site’s remoteness, limited accessibility, the need to remove 33 million cubic metres of sand dunes and the necessity of working closely with Etihad Rail, the UAE’s first national railway system.

The project was also under pressure to start processing liquid sulphur as soon as the gas plant began production, with zero downtime.

The scheme has been in operation since January 2015 and contributes about 5 per cent of the world’s production capacity. The UAE’s increased capacity means the country is now the world’s biggest producer of sulphur granules, surpassing Canada, the previous world leader.