Page 12 - MEOG Week 24 2021

MEOG PROJECTS & COMPANIES MEOG

Turkey shares Black Sea gas

discovery data with US majors

TURKEY TURKEY has reportedly shared data on its discovered gas without assistance from a larger
Sakarya Black Sea gas discovery with US energy energy industry player.
majors Chevron and Exxon Mobil ahead of pos- In early June, Turkish President Recep Tayyip
sible cooperation in extraction. Erdogan announced that TPAO had added to the
Ankara has so far insisted it would develop 405bcm of gas found last year, adding 135bcm
the estimated 540bn cubic metre field alone, but with the Amasra-1 exploration well.
Reuters reported on June 11 that a Turkish offi- Turkey’s energy and natural resources minis-
cial with knowledge of the matter confirmed the ter Fatih Dönmez announced the start of drilling
contacts with Chevron and Exxon Mobil. at Amasra-1 in mid-April.
The Black Sea gas discovery is Turkey’s big- It is one of a 10-well drilling campaign
gest-ever gas discovery, but there are concerns designed to achieve first gas by 2023 at a rate of
in the industry that independent verification of 3.65bcm per year and a further 30 wells will be
the announced gas resources has not been con- drilled to reach an annual plateau of 15bcm by
ducted or provided. 2025.
The Turkish official was quoted as saying Local media have begun quoting an antici-
that until now the government had been cool to pated flow rate of 5-10bcm in 2023, though no
foreign corporate interest in the gas discovery explanation for the increase has been provided.
unveiled last August, “but now ... Exxon Mobil The well was drilled by TPAO’s first drillship
and Chevron have met with Turkish Petroleum the Fatih, which made the 320bcm Tuna-1 gas
and received data regarding the discovery”. discovery in August, which was subsequently
Turkish Petroleum is widely seen as not upgraded to 405bcm two months later and
having the technical prowess to exploit the renamed Sakarya.™

TENDERS

Saipem wins ADNOC contract

for Shah sour gas plant

UAE ITALY’S Saipem won an engineering, procure- commissioning, start-up of facilities, the exten-
ment and construction (EPC) contract from Abu sion of the existing gas-gathering network and
Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) this week for the addition of new pad facilities.
the expansion of the Shah Sour Gas Plant. Work already carried out under the OSGE
The $510mn contract was awarded follow- includes off-sites and utilities (O&U) to inte-
ing a competitive tender process, with Saipem grate the new facilities with existing facilities
having carried out the bulk of EPC work on and installations. According to ADNOC: “The
the Emirates’ maiden sour gas project, which plant modifications have been designed for
was commissioned in 2015 at the onshore seamless integration with existing facilities with
south-eastern Shah gas field. no impact on the safety or integrity of the plant,
The project will allow ADNOC Sour Gas while minimising impacts on production during
(ASG), a joint venture between ADNOC and construction, interfacing and commissioning.”
US firm Occidental Petroleum, to expand capac- Meanwhile, Tayba Al Hashemi, CEO of ASG,
ity at the $10bn Shah project by 13% from the said: “It enhances Shah’s position as a hub of sour
current 13.2bn cubic metres per year to around operations expertise, developing the skills and
15 bcm. The Shah field is part of the ADNOC experience of the next generation of Emirati
Onshore concession that includes Abu Dhabi’s professionals.”
main oilfields. Granulated sulphur from the facility is trans-
The so-called Optimum Shah Gas Expansion ported from Shah to ADNOC’s Ruwais down-
(OSGE) project is expected to be completed in stream hub by rail for onward export, with all
2023 and when ready, it will mark a 50% increase other products delivered to ADNOC and its sub-
in capacity from the plant’s original slate. sidiaries for further processing or distribution to
This has included EPC, pre-commissioning, domestic consumers.™

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 24 16•June•2021