The KM250 will add 250 mn standard cu/ft per day of new processing capacity.

Middle East-based natural gas company, Dana Gas PJSC, and exploration and production company, Crescent Petroleum, have started commercial gas sales from the KM250 gas expansion project (KM250) at the Khor Mor facility in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq 

The KM250 will add 250 mn standard cu/ft per day of new processing capacity, a 50% increase, boosting Khor Mor’s total output to 750 mn stamndard cu/ft per day. This can support Iraq’s burgeoning power demand by delivering significant new volumes of clean-burning natural gas.

The US$1.1bn project was backed by financing from the Bank of Sharjah, the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and proceeds from Pearl Petroleum’s US$350mn senior secured bond issued in 2024 and listed on Nordic Alternative Bond Market. The project generated employment for more than 10,000 people and involved the delivery of more than 6,000 tonnes of steel and 6.2 mn man-hours, making it one of the largest private-sector infrastructure builds in Iraq in recent years.

Majid Jafar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum and board managing director of Dana Gas, said, “Delivering KM250 ahead of schedule marks a significant achievement for Crescent Petroleum, Dana Gas, and our Pearl Consortium partners. This accomplishment highlights our ongoing dedication to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, demonstrates our capacity to unlock its vast energy resources, and reinforces our commitment to generating jobs, enhancing local services, and providing cleaner, more reliable energy for the Region and the Country.”

“I am especially grateful for the strong support of the KRG and local authorities, whose cooperation helped us overcome challenges and sustain momentum throughout the project. I would also like to recognise the outstanding leadership of Richard Hall, CEO of Dana Gas, who navigated the complex dynamics and guided the project to successful completion eight months ahead of schedule.”

Richard Hall, CEO, Dana Gas, said, “Completing KM250 early is a huge milestone for Dana Gas and reflects the hands-on approach we brought to the project in the absence of the main contractor. By assuming operational oversight, Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum were able to focus delivery, resolve issues quickly, and restore momentum – yielding real results on the ground.

“The additional capacity strengthens our production profile and is expected to deliver substantial annual revenue for Dana Gas. It also supports our mission to deliver stable, cleaner energy to KRI communities, reduce diesel dependence and advance the region’s ambition for 24-hour electrification.”

The RAG sourced from offshore and onshore oil fields will be treated at the plant to remove impurities. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

LTEH Onshore, L&T’s Hydrocarbon Onshore business, has won an ‘ultra-mega’ order for setting up a Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) plant and related facilities in the Middle East

The company has won the order in consortium with the Greece-headquartered Consolidated Contractors Group S.A.L. (Offshore) (CCC).

The scope of work encompasses engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning of a Natural Gas Liquids plant and allied facilities for processing Rich Associated Gas (RAG). This also involves all associated utilities and offsite and integration with existing facilities.

L&T, as the lead partner, will be responsible for engineering and procurement, while CCC will handle the construction activities.

The RAG sourced from offshore and onshore oil fields will be treated at the plant to remove impurities like H2S, CO2 and H2O, producing value-added products such as lean sales gas, ethane, propane, butane and hydrocarbon condensate.

S N Subrahmanyan, chairman & managing director - L&T, said, “The ultra-mega order reaffirms L&T’s position as a trusted partner in delivering mega energy infrastructure. It underscores our growing global footprint and ability to execute projects of high complexity in partnership with leading players like CCC. We deeply value the confidence reposed in us and remain committed to creating long-term value through safe, sustainable and timely execution”.

Subramanian Sarma, deputy managing director & president - L&T, added, “This project is not just about scale but is also about bringing in advanced engineering, long-term reliability measures and complex brownfield interfaces to deliver value-added products. The order strengthens L&T’s role in shaping energy security, while deepening the relationship with oil & gas companies through world-class execution”.

The acquisition will combine the global footprint of APC and leading technology of GRC. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Saudi Arabia-headquartered Alkhorayef Petroleum Company (APC), a global leader in artificial lift solutions, has acquired GRC Technologies LLC, supplier of precision downhole gauges and well instrumentation

With the acquisition, APC now adds ESP sensors to its range — which includes ESP pumps, motors, protectors, intakes, gas handling devices and surface electrical equipment — strengthening its position as a global end-to-end ESP solutions provider.

GRC Technologies will deliver accurate and reliable data, analytics and scalable digital intelligence, helping customers to optimise performance and extend asset life and opening the path to autonomous operations, where data-driven insights evolve into predictive, autonomous field optimisation. By combining the research and development strengths of both APC and GRC Technologies, the integration of artificial intelligence into artificial lift optimisation can be significantly advanced.

“GRC has been a quiet powerhouse in the ESP industry for a century. By joining the APC family, we are expanding our capability, closing the physics gap and positioning ourselves to deliver greater innovation and reliability for our customers,” said Mohamed Doghmi, president, Alkhorayef Petroleum Company.

“For over 100 years, GRC has set the standard for gauge reliability in the world’s most challenging wells. With APC’s resources and support, we will remain the trusted independent supplier our customers rely on, while accelerating our journey from gauges to intelligence — and ultimately from knowledge to autonomy,” said William Milne, senior director, GRC Technologies.

Hani Attia, general manager of KSA and Bahrain at John Crane. (Image source: John Crane)

Hani Attia, general manager KSA and Bahrain at John Crane, spoke to Oil Review Middle East on the occasion of the conference on “Sealing the Future: Innovation and Reliability in Turbomachinery,” hosted by Aramco

Oil Review Middle East (ORME): Can you briefly tell us about your T93AX and SENSE Turbo solutions and their applications? How do you view the market for these solutions in Saudi Arabia and the region?

Hani Attia (HA): John Crane’s Type 93AX is our next-generation coaxial separation seal, specifically engineered to safeguard dry gas seals in turbomachinery by preventing oil ingress and maintaining non-contacting operation, even during upset or failure scenarios. With a robust design capable of handling up to 70 bar and high rotational speeds, it achieves a significant reduction up to 80% in nitrogen consumption compared to conventional designs, thereby lowering operating costs and emissions. Its bi-directional capability, extended ten-year design life, and ability to remain functional under separation gas loss or dry gas seal failure set a new benchmark for reliability and safety in compressors used across oil and gas, LNG, refining and petrochemicals.

Complementing this hardware innovation, our SENSE Turbo solution embeds sensors directly within the dry gas seal to deliver continuous, high-fidelity monitoring of temperature, leakage, contamination and vibration. By providing early warning insights and real-time diagnostics, SENSE Turbo enables predictive intervention, extends mean time between repairs, and reduces unnecessary maintenance costs one case study demonstrated it prevented eight days of unplanned downtime, avoiding millions of dollars in lost production.

Together, these technologies are transforming turbomachinery reliability in Saudi Arabia and the wider region, where major operators in Saudi such as Aramco are actively pursuing localisation, digitalisation, and life-extension programmes. While traditional time-based maintenance remains common, the adoption of predictive monitoring and asset management is accelerating as customers seek to optimise efficiency, cut costs, and enhance safety. In this context, John Crane is collaborating closely with our customers delivering advanced sealing solutions, deploying SENSE Turbo on critical assets, and building local service capabilities to drive innovation, improve uptime, and support the Kingdom’s sustainability and Vision 2030 goals.

ORME: How can predictive monitoring and asset management solutions help to increase operational efficiency, reduce downtime and lower maintenance costs in the oil and gas sector? To extent are these solutions being deployed, or is there still a reliance on traditional methods?

HA: Predictive monitoring turns real-time machine and seal health data into early-warning insights, so teams fix the right issue at the right time. The result is fewer emergency shutdowns, longer mean time between maintenance, better spares planning and lower lifecycle cost per MW of compression. Asset-management frameworks then lock in those gains by standardising work processes, closing the loop from alert → root-cause → action → proven outcome.

Deployment is accelerating across the region, especially on critical compressors and pumps, but many plants still blend traditional time-based maintenance with digital programmes. The near-term opportunity is pragmatic hybridisation; start with the most consequential assets, prove value quickly, and scale.

ORME: How is John Crane collaborating with Aramco to drive innovation and raise performance in the oil and gas sector?

HA: We work with Aramco on three fronts:
1. Application engineering & upgrades: tailoring sealing solutions (including T93AX families and dry-gas-seal enhancements) to site conditions, aiming for higher reliability, lower emissions and safer operation.
2. Digital reliability: deploying SENSE-enabled monitoring on priority turbomachinery to provide early-warning diagnostics, accelerate troubleshooting and shorten turnaround windows.
3. Localisation & capability building: partnering through our KSA footprint to localise services, strengthen spare-parts responsiveness, and upskill local talent via training and joint problem-solving.
This integrated approach, engineered hardware plus digital insights, delivered locally, helps Aramco and the wider Saudi ecosystem improve uptime, reduce maintenance cost and support sustainability objectives.