Abu Dhabi is on course to complete its $11bn Shah sour gas project by its late 2014 target, according to the chief executive officer (CEO) of its operator Abu Dhabi Gas Development Company (Al-Hosn Gas), Saif al-Ghafli .

The facilities at the onshore project are 60 per cent complete and drilling has progressed over 20 per cent, Al-Ghafli told KPMG’s GCC energy conference in Abu Dhabi.

The project, located 210 kilometres south of Abu Dhabi city will process 1,000 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) of feed gas to produce 500 million cf/d of desulphurised gas in addition to condensates and marketable sulphur.

The Shah gas field, which contains 23 per cent hydrogen sulphide, is the first sour gas project to be developed in the region.

“The dynamics have changed in regional demand for gas in power and reinjection…  It is imperative to look at unconventional gas reserves,” said Al-Ghafli. “[This is the start of a] new era of regional gas development.”