meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Firms express interest in Lower Zakum project

8 May 2023

Contractors have expressed interest in bidding for the main contract for the first phase of the Lower Zakum Long-Term Development Plan (LTDP-1) project. The offshore arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Offshore) owns the project.

The Lower Zakum LTDP-1 project is the larger of two projects that the offshore arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has undertaken in line with its ambition to raise the oil and gas production potential of Abu Dhabi’s Lower Zakum offshore hydrocarbon concession over the long term.

Contractors submitted expression of interest (EoI) documents, as part of the prequalification process, for the LTDP-1 project by 27 April, according to sources.

Adnoc Offshore issued the EoI to contractors for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) tendering exercise for the Lower Zakum LTDP-1 “earlier in March”, sources previously told MEED, with contractors initially asked to respond by 10 April.

Lower Zakum oil production

The Lower Zakum hydrocarbons zone is 65 kilometres northwest of Abu Dhabi in the Gulf’s waters. Adnoc Offshore holds the majority 60 per cent stake in the Lower Zakum asset. Foreign partners include an Indian consortium of companies led by ONGC Videsh (10 per cent), Japan’s Inpex Corporation (10 per cent), China National Petroleum Corporation (10 per cent), Italy’s Eni (5 per cent) and France’s TotalEnergies (5 per cent).

Adnoc Offshore and its partners in the Lower Zakum concession intend to sustain oil production from the asset at its current level of 450,000 barrels a day (b/d) until 2025, and then increase output to 470,000 b/d. This target will be achieved through the Lower Zakum early production scheme 2 (EPS 2) and proved developed producing (PDP) project.

The larger, longer-term objective is to raise Lower Zakum’s oil production to 520,000 b/d by 2027 and maintain that level until 2034. This goal is to be accomplished through the LTDP-1 project.

Raising oil and gas production from the Lower Zakum asset is vital for Adnoc to achieve its accelerated target of increasing oil production capacity to 5 million b/d by 2027, and raising gas output potential by 3 billion cubic feet a day (cf/d) by the end of this decade.

Lower Zakum EPS 2/PDP project

Front-end engineering and design (feed) work is progressing on the Lower Zakum EPS 2/PDP project and is being performed by UK-headquartered Wood Group.

Adnoc Offshore, which, according to sources, awarded Wood the contract in November last year, expects feed work on the project to be completed by June.

The basic scope of work on the project involves the drilling of 17 additional producer and water injection wells on two new wellhead towers (WHTs) and the expansion of the gas compression capacity of the Zakum West Super Complex (ZWSC).

Integration of the Lower Zakum complexes with the onshore power grid at UZ AGI for electricity supply to the EPS 2/PDP project is also part of the scope.

Demolition of structures and as-built documentation and surveying are also included in the scope of work.

Adnoc Offshore solicited interest for the Lower Zakum EPS 2/PDP project EPC works in December last year. Contractors expressed interest in participating in the main contract tendering process in January, sources told MEED.

As per the schedule, Adnoc Offshore expects to issue the project’s main EPC tender in June, with the award of contracts to take place in September.

Lower Zakum LTDP-1 project

Feed work is progressing on the Lower Zakum LTDP-1 project and is being performed by France’s Technip Energies.

According to sources, Adnoc Offshore awarded Technip Energies the contract in November last year. The operator expects feed work on the project, which began in December, to be completed by January 2024.

Adnoc Offshore issued the expression of interest for the Lower Zakum LTDP-1 EPC tendering exercise “earlier in March”, with contractors asked to respond by 10 April.

The detailed scope of work on the Lower Zakum LTDP-1 project is as follows:

Topside facilities on G Island – Civil works on process facilities and associated buildings on the artificial greenfield G Island.

Process facilities include well pads, inlet and export reception, production separation, export pumps, gas compression, dehydration and lift, produced water treatment and disposal, vapour recovery units, water injection units, riser tower, flare towers, accommodation, drilling of high-pressure flare knock out drum, power distribution facility, substations and local equipment rooms.

Offshore WHTs and pipelines – Seven WHTs will be installed: six in the east area, and one in the AGI area. Five of the WHTs are to be 16-slot, while the two others are to be 9-slot.

Das Island Terminal, ZCSC and ZWSC – The five existing oil processing trains at the Lower Zakum offshore development are to be decommissioned in 2028, with the new configuration of the main processing plant at Das Island to be:

  • Two existing trains with a processing/stabilisation capacity of 110,000 b/d each
  • Three new trains with a processing/stabilisation capacity of 150,000 b/d

The scope of work also covers the installation of other structures such as:

  • Three high-pressure separator trains
  • High-pressure scrubber
  • Three low-pressure separator trains
  • Low-pressure scrubber
  • Three atmospheric separator trains
  • Four crude charge pumps
  • Three crude charge heaters
  • Three cold strippers integrated with a degassing vessel
  • Six stripped crude product pumps
  • Common ejector with a spare for three cold strippers
  • Closed drain drum with transfer pump
  • Blow case vessel

As per the schedule, Adnoc Offshore expects to issue the project’s main EPC tender in December, with the award of contracts to take place in March next year.

The operator expects the Lower Zakum LTDP-1 project to be commissioned by the end of 2027.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10825529/main4514.jpg
Indrajit Sen

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Contractors submit bids for next phase of Duba port

    2 June 2023

    Contractors have submitted bids for the next phase of the Duba port expansion at Oxagon industrial city.

    The bidders are Belgium’s Deme with Greece’s Archirodon; Van Oord of the Netherlands with South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction; a Belgian joint venture of Jan de Nul and Besix; Netherlands-based Boskalis with France’s Soletanche Bachy; South Korea’s Daewoo; and China Harbour Engineering Company.

    The tender for the project’s second phase follows the award of a contract to deliver the first phase of the port expansion. A team of Boskalis, Besix and the local Modern Building Leaders (MBL) was awarded that estimated SR3bn ($800m) contract in mid-January.

    The scope of the Duba port expansion package includes excavation and dredging, revetments for channel widening, demolition, container terminal quay expansion and earthworks, in addition to the development of a flexible quay, a roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) berth and quay walls to a marine services berth and a coast guard facility.

    Jacobs is the main design consultant, with Moffatt & Nichol, IGO and Trent as the main sub-consultants.

    Contractors are preparing to submit bids in June for a contract to build tunnels connecting the offshore elements of the Oxagon industrial city at Neom to the mainland.

    The design-and-build contract involves digging a 6.5-metre-diameter tunnel using a tunnel boring machine (TBM) under the sea that will link the Neom Connector with the offshore elements of Oxagon port. It will house utilities including water pipelines, fibre optic cables and electricity cables.

    Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched Oxagon in late 2021. It will include onshore elements as well as floating structures offshore. Construction works on the 48 square-kilometre, eight-sided industrial city have already started.

    An expanded Duba port is a critical component of Oxagon and the broader Neom development, as it will allow greater volumes of materials to be imported for the project. With an expected investment value of $500bn, Neom is the largest programme of construction work in the world.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10909320/main.jpeg
    Colin Foreman
  • Egypt makes steady progress on Assiut refinery

    2 June 2023

    Egypt is making steady progress on the $2bn hydrocracking complex package that forms part of the wider Assuit oil refinery upgrade project, according to industry sources.

    Assiut Oil Refining Company (ASORC), a subsidiary of state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), is the project operator.

    “Work on the main units is continuing with no significant issues,” said one source.

    During 2021, the project faced disruption due to issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

    In 2023, many projects in Egypt’s oil and gas sector have been disrupted by currency issues due to the declining value of the Egyptian pound.

    Most of the projects that the currency issues have significantly impacted have been in their early stages, with the problems related to the procurement of materials and equipment.

    France’s Technip Energies is the main contractor performing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on the Assiut hydrocracking complex, as part of a $2bn contract it was awarded by ASORC in February 2020.

    In April 2021, Switzerland-based Burckhardt Compression announced being selected by Technip Energies as the gas compressor supplier for the hydrocracker package.

    ASORC held a kick-off meeting for the project in September 2020.

    Egyptian contractors Enppi and Petrojet are supporting Technip Energies on the project. Enppi has undertaken the engineering work, while Petrojet is carrying out construction work.

    In 2021, contractors completed the construction of a $450m high-octane gasoline complex in the Assiut governorate as part of the broader $3.8bn Assuit oil refinery upgrade project.

    Assiut refinery

    The Assiut hydrocracking complex will be one of Egypt’s major strategic refineries, and will help meet growing local demand for cleaner products.

    The project will also become the largest oil refining facility to be implemented in Upper Egypt so far.

    Once completed, the project will transform lower-value petroleum by-products, such as mazut, into cleaner, higher-value products.

    It is expected to have an output of about 2.8 million tonnes a year of Euro-5 diesel, in addition to other petroleum products.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10908534/main3340.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Mawani implements $950m of Saudi port projects

    2 June 2023

    Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) is implementing a series of projects over the coming 18 months as part of its efforts to improve and expand infrastructure at ports and increase their utilisation rates.

    The programme, worth about SR3.5bn ($950m), comprises just over 150 projects, of which 48 are strategic in nature, 90 infrastructure-focused and 14 targeting security enhancements.

    The most significant projects are:

    At Jeddah Islamic Port

    • A four-year contract to build a new road, interchanges and flyovers to link Gate 9 with the Al-Khumrah integrated logistics park.
    • Deepening over three years of the north basin approach channel to 14 metres and the construction of a bull nose dike

    At Ras al-Khair Port

    • Increasing the draft depth of berths 11 and 12 to 16 metres
    • A three-year job to widen and dredge the approach channel from 300 metres to 500 metres and deepen it by 3 metres to 19 metres

    Other key investments include installing integrated security systems at Jeddah Islamic Port and King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam and constructing a new 40MVA substation at King Fahd Port in Yanbu.

    The contracts are expected to be tendered and awarded by the end of 2024.

    Mawani’s planned investment comes on the back of several major contracts awarded over the past 12 months, including an agreement with DP World to set up the Al-Khumrah logistics park, the reconstruction and expansion of the first and second container terminals at King Abdulaziz Port, and the upgrade of berth infrastructure and draft depths at Jeddah Islamic Port and King Fahd Port.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10909176/main.jpg
    Edward James
  • Dubai unveils new masterplan for Palm Jebel Ali

    1 June 2023

    Dubai has released details of the new masterplan for Palm Jebel Ali, an artificial island located south of Jebel Ali Freezone.

    Double the size of Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali will have 110 kilometres of shoreline and extensive green spaces. The development will feature over 80 hotels and resorts, along with a diverse range of entertainment and leisure facilities.

    Strategic masterplan

    The unveiling of the masterplan aligns with Dubai's commitment to doubling the size of its economy by 2033, as outlined in the Dubai Economic Agenda.

    The project, approved by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, includes seven connected islands, catering to approximately 35,000 families. The development also emphasises sustainability, with 30 per cent of public facilities powered by renewable energy.

     

    MEED reported in January that local developer Nakheel had approached contractors to complete the reclamation works for Palm Jebel Ali.

    As with Palm Jumeirah, it is estimated that it could take around 20 years for Palm Jebel Ali to reach its full development potential. Nakheel has previously secured AED17bn ($4.6bn) in funding to expedite the development of various projects, including the Dubai Islands and other waterfront schemes.

    The upcoming dredging contract for Palm Jebel Ali is anticipated to involve 5-6 million cubic metres of material, contributing to the completion of the man-made offshore island.

    While reclamation work for Palm Jebel Ali is mostly finished, the project was put on hold in 2009. Nakheel had made some progress with infrastructure development, including the construction of bridges on the island by Samsung C+T.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10906519/main.jpg
    Colin Foreman
  • Swedish firm to deliver apartments for Neom

    1 June 2023

    Swedish modular home manufacturer SIBS has been awarded a contract to deliver 2,174 apartments for Neom.

    The engineered equipment supply contract involves SIBS constructing 35 buildings within Neom’s primary staff accommodation and office cluster.

    The apartments will cater to professionals involved in the planning, engineering and construction of Neom. The entire project is expected to be delivered and commissioned by the third quarter of 2024.

    The $500bn Neom development in northwestern Saudi Arabia is the region’s largest construction project and employs thousands of staff.

    Elements of the project that have been officially launched so far are The Line, Oxagon, Trojena and Sindalah. There are also plans for an international airport and a coastal strip of hotels known as the Gulf of Aqaba.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10905700/main.gif
    Colin Foreman