Petrofac wins Adnoc gas processing complex upgrade

Adnoc Gas, the natural gas processing business of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Group), has awarded UK-headquartered Petrofac the main engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a project to increase the carbon dioxide (CO2) recovery capacity of the Habshan gas processing complex in Abu Dhabi.

The value of the EPC contract for the Habshan CO2 recovery and injection project is approximately $700m, London Stock Exchange-listed Petrofac said in a statement.

The objective of the project is to raise the CO2 recovery rate of the fifth plant at the Habshan gas processing complex from existing streams. Increased recovery of CO2 will result in more of it being reinjected into oil fields in Abu Dhabi, and help replace more natural gas currently used in enhanced oil recovery.

The Habshan CO2 recovery and injection project will contribute towards Adnoc Group’s target to expand its carbon capture capacity to 5 million tonnes a year by 2030, a goal which is aligned with the UAE’s ambition of becoming a global hub for carbon capture expertise and innovation.

In January, Adnoc Group announced allocation of a $15bn budget for projects to decarbonise its operations.

Project scope of work

The broad scope of work comprises EPC of three gas compressor trains, associated utilities and power systems at Habshan-5, Petrofac said in its statement.

MEED has learned from sources that the project covers solvent reformulation, additional CO2 recovery equipment at units 550, 551, 552, 553, and new and associated facilities with required tie-ins in the existing facilities at Habshan-5.

The EPC works entail installation of the following structures and units at Habshan-5:

• CO2 recovery unit, including the following segments, along with provision of licensed technology:
  • Tail gas polishing unit
  • High-pressure CO2 compressor section
  • Low-pressure CO2 compressor section
  • Dehydration units
  • CO2 export section
  • Closed-drain system
  • Vent stack
• New power substation at Habshan-5
• Tie-in with existing substation-500 to source power for new substation
• Modification in medium-voltage and low-voltage switchboards of existing substations 507, 508, 512 and 513 for new loads that shall be added in existing units of Habshan-5
• New industrial electrical substation at Habshan-5
• Associated piping and mechanical works
• Associated electrical and cathodic protection works
• Associated fire and gas detection works and fire water network extension
• Associated instrumentation and telecommunication facilities
• Associated civil and structural works.

An optional scope of work on the contract also includes provision of a back-pressure steam turbine for power generation at Habshan-5 in addition to the let-down station.

Australia-headquartered engineering firm Worley has performed the front-end engineering and design work on the Habshan CO2 recovery and injection project.

Apart from Petrofac, the following contractors, among others, were in the race for the main EPC contract, as per sources:

• Archirodon (Greece)
• China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Company (China)
• Larsen and Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon (India)
• National Petroleum Construction Company (UAE)
• Sinopec Engineering (China)
• Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain)
• Tecnimont (Italy)

Modification of Habshan gas complex

In late November, Adnoc announced the creation of Adnoc Gas through the merger of its subsidiaries Adnoc Gas Processing and Adnoc LNG, as well as its intention to float shares of the new company on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).

Adnoc Gas began operating on 1 January. The company’s executive leadership team comprises Ahmed Mohamed Alebri as acting CEO, Peter Van Driel as chief financial officer and Mohamed al-Hashemi as chief operating officer.

The consolidation of Adnoc’s gas processing and liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations into Adnoc Gas has created one of the world’s largest gas processing entities with a processing capacity of about 10 billion standard cubic feet of gas a day across eight onshore and offshore sites, and a pipeline network of over 3,250 kilometres.

Adnoc Gas is in charge of some of the world’s largest gas processing complexes in Abu Dhabi, with the capacity to process about 8 billion cf/d from its Asab, Bab, Bu Hasa, Habshan and Ruwais plants.

ALSO READ: Gas takes centre stage in Adnoc downstream expansion

Adnoc Gas has undertaken several projects in recent months to expand the gas processing potential, as well as the overall efficiency, of the Habshan complex.

In October last year, Petrofac won another contract to install a flare gas recovery system at the Habshan gas processing facility. The value of the contract is estimated to be worth between $20m and $25m.

The scope of work on the project involves installing a flare gas recovery system at the Habshan gas processing unit number three, as well as carrying out brownfield modification and repair works.

MEED reported in January this year about Adnoc Gas awarding Abu Dhabi-based Probus Engineering & Construction another $20-25m contract to install a closed-loop sampling system and upgrade the cold bed adsorption (CBA) reactor at the Habshan gas processing complex.