Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has awarded a $510-million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to Italy’s Saipem for expanding the capacity at its Shah sour gas plant by 13 per cent to 1.45 billion cu ft per day over the next two years.

Saipem was awarded the EPC contract for the Optimum Shah Gas Expansion (OSGE) project by Adnoc Sour Gas following a competitive tender process.

Adnoc Sour Gas, a joint venture between Adnoc and Occidental, operates the Shah field and is claimed to be the only company in the world that processes more than 1 billion standard cubic feet per day (SCFD) of ultra-sour gas from a single gas plant which also produces approximately five per cent of the world’s granulated sulphur.

Adnoc says more than 50 per cent of the award value will flow back into the UAE’s economy under its In-Country Value (ICV) programme.

Once the OSGE project gets completed in 2023, it will increase the processing capacity of the Shah Gas plant by 13 per cent, from 1.28 to 1.45 billion SCFD.

The scope of work comprises EPC, pre-commissioning, commissioning, and startup of facilities to increase plant production capacity as well as the extension of the existing gas gathering network and new pad facilities. It also includes all associated off-sites and utilities necessary to integrate the new facilities with existing installations, including gas gathering facilities, main gas plant, product pipelines, and the sulphur granulation plant.

The plant modifications have been designed for seamless integration with existing facilities with no impact on the safety or integrity of the plant while minimising impacts on production during construction, interfacing and commissioning.