ADNOC has announced that as much as US$73bn worth of natural gas development projects were currently under tender or in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) phases across GCC states
Mohammad A Sahoo Al Suwaidi, director of gas directorate in Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), said, “US$25bn worth of gas projects are in Abu Dhabi alone, the main project here being the Bab sour gas development project where Shell is committed to delivering gas by 2020.
“Domestic gas demand is growing 15 per cent annually.”
Anglo-Dutch oil and gas agency Shell said that it had recently won a 30-year deal to develop ADNOC’s Bab sour gas field, a project estimated to be worth US$10bn. The UAE oil firm will own 60 per cent of the Bab joint venture while the Anglo-Dutch company will have remaining 40 per cent stake.
Abu Dhabi has onshore concessions expiring in 2014 while offshore concessions expire in 2018, a 'well-placed oil industry source' told Gulf News.
The Abu Dhabi government is most likely to evaluate companies on their technical ability when a decision will finally taken by January 2014 on foreign partnerships for onshore concessions.
The decision on partners for offshore concessions is likely to be taken before their expiry in 2018, said the source, adding the indications are the onshore concessions will be offered for a shorter duration, and not 65 years as is the case with some existing contracts.
Suwaidi also said the UAE’s current oil production stands at 2.77mn bpd while its natural gas output is 150,080 cubic metres per day.
Robin Mills, head of consulting at Dubai-based Manaar Energy, said that the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s gas export growth is “virtually all driven by Qatar and Algeria”.
