ADNOC Sour Gas has installed a Sulfur Remelter facility at its Shah Sulfur granulation station, aiming to maximise Sulfur recovery otherwise lost during normal transportation operations
Up to two tonnes per day of Sulfur is lost during the transportation of granulated Sulfur from the granulators via conveyors, to stockpiles or trains for transportation to ADNOC’s sulfur export centre in Ruwais.
Previously, due to sand and rock contaminants, the lost Sulfur had to be disposed of offsite. With the commissioning of the Sulfur Remelter unit, ADNOC Sour gas aims to recycle the Sulfur and add it back into the daily production of granulated Sulfur.
Omar Obaid Al Nasri, acting CEO of ADNOC Sour Gas, said, “Thinking differently to create a solution which reduced our environmental impact, creates substantial savings and revenue over the life of the project and incorporates innovation, is at the heart of everything we strive to do at ADNOC.”
ADNOC Sour Gas produces about 3.5mn tonnes per year of Sulfur, a by-product of sour gas processing, and accounts for five per cent of total global production, making the UAE the world’s largest Sulfur exporter. The Shah plant features four of the largest Sulfur recovery units in the world.
Etihad Rail transports approximately 17,000 tonnes per day of Sulfur from ADNOC’s Habshan and Shah fields to Ruwais, from where it is exported to markets around the world for use in fertilisers.
The Shah sour gas field and associated processing facilities are operated by ADNOC Sour Gas, a joint venture between ADNOC and Occidental Petroleum.
