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MEOG NEWS IN BRIEF MEOG

KBR wins key Abu Dhabi its drive to become a key gas exporter in the In a previous interview in October,
long term and to reduce UAE’s dependence on Padmanathan had expected to have the
consultancy contract imported Qatari gas. financing in place in the first quarter.
The nation aims to emerge as a key LNG
Procurement for and construction of the
US contracting giant KBR has landed a exporter on the back of several gas-focused green hydrogen plant are underway and it is
prized contract from Abu Dhabi National upstream developments in the emirate, expected to be operational in the first quarter
Oil company (Adnoc) for the project including the multi-billion Hail & Ghasha of 2026, Padmanathan said.
management consultancy (PMC) work on its sour gas scheme. Several more plants are expected to follow
Fujairah liquefied natural gas export facility in Adnoc awards key engineering contract for as Saudi Arabia seeks to gain a first mover’s
the United Arab Emirates. huge Fujairah LNG terminal advantage and dominate the industry.
The workscope for the key consultancy Neither KBR nor Adnoc are yet to respond ACWA Power also expects to secure
contract is set to include the project’s front- to Upstream’s queries on the PMC award. financing this year for the 700-megawatt Ar
end engineering and design phase and UPSTREAM Rass photovoltaic solar plant in Al Qassim
potentially stretch into its engineering, province, Padmanathan said.
procurement and construction (EPC) phase at ACWA expects NEOM The CEO said the effective blocking of
a later stage. the Black Sea following Russia’s invasion of
The PMC contract award was made hydrogen plant financing in Ukraine has caused issues in delivering large
to KBR, two people familiar with the equipment to ACWA projects in countries like
development. Q3 Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.
Up to four contenders were in the “The projects are getting stressed due to
frame for the Fujairah LNG PMC contract, Saudi Arabia’s utility developer ACWA supply chain constraints. It’s not just about
Upstream has reported. Power, partly owned by the sovereign Public even inflation anymore, it’s also availability,”
KBR is said to have pipped UK’s Wood Investment Fund, expects to close financing Padmanathan said of ACWA projects
and Penspen and Australia’s Worley, the other for a multi-billion dollar green hydrogen plant generally.
key bidders in the tender process, Upstream in the third quarter, its chief executive said on Expected delays of roughly one to three
understands. Thursday. months are manageable, he said, and the
The PMC contract follows an earlier The kingdom, one of the world’s top company is working with other partners,
award for the FEED contract itself, made to oil exporters, wants to become the biggest contractors and offtakers to navigate the
McDermott International of the US for the supplier of green hydrogen, aiming to produce issues as well as others caused by lockdowns
Fujairah LNG terminal. around 4 million tonnes by 2030 as part of in China.
The contract to McDermott was reported Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s drive “We kind of pass (the) risk, if you like, to
by Upstream and subsequently confirmed by to diversify the economy. other parties who are better able to manage
Adnoc. “We should be sharing good news during (it),” he said.
The emirati state-owned giant recently Q3,” ACWA’s CEO Paddy Padmanathan told ACWA brought 10 projects online last year
unveiled plans to develop a two-train, 9.6 Reuters when asked about closing the project and expects between seven and 10 to begin
million tpa LNG export facility at Fujairah to finance facility for the expected $5 billion production this year.
cater to several gas markets around the world. plant which is being built in the planned REUTERS
Abu Dhabi’s LNG ambitions are a part of futuristic city NEOM.

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 20 18•May•2022