Abu Dhabi Gas Development Company (Al-Hosn Gas) expects to have completed 80 per cent of its $11bn Shah sour gas project by the end of the year with completion targeted for the end of 2014, according to a senior source from the company.

The project, which is located 210 kilometres southwest of Abu Dhabi city, is being developed to produce 500 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) of sales gas to meet growing power demand in the emirate.

“We are looking forward to commissioning the gas processing and sulphur recovery in October and November,” says the source from Al-Hosn Gas.

In addition to sales gas, the project will have the capacity to produce 4,400 tonnes a day (t/d) of natural gas liquids (NGL), 33,000 barrels a day (b/d) of condensates and 11,000 t/d of sulphur.

Utilisation of the sulphur extracted from the Shah reservoir gas, which contains 23 per cent hydrogen sulphide, is one of the biggest challenges for the project.

“There must be some kind of market studies to support the demand for sulphur, so we can have security in advance,” says the source. “We have to make a very good marketing strategy for this.”