Zadco to extend Zirku oil processing and gas treatment
The Abu Dhabi company Zakum Development Company Oil Company (Zadco) is a joint venture between the national oil company (NOC) Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and the international oil companies (IOCs) ExxonMobil and the Japan Oil Development Company (JODCO).
Zadco was created in 1977 to develop the Upper Zakum (UZ) field with actual working interest between the patners:
- ADNOC 60%
- ExxonMobil 28%
- JODCO 12%
Upper Zakum is the forth largest field in the world and the second biggest in the Gulf.
Located offshore 64 kilometers northwestern Abu Dhabi, Upper Zakum covers 1,200 square kilometers required over the years the construction of multiple platforms and heavy infrastructure for the exploration and production of its oil and gas reserves.
In this scheme, the Zirku island, located 140 kilometers distance from Abu Dhabi Emirate‘s coast appeared as the perfect position to build oil and gas processing units, storage and export facilities.
In the meantime Zadco developed in the same area the Umm Al Dalkh and Satah fields.
These oil fields were also connected to Zirku island for oil and gas processing, storage and export employing about 1100 people.
In order to meet Abu Dhabi‘s allocated OPEC quotas for 2017, Zadco is planning to increase Upper Zakum production capacity from current 500,000 b/d to 750,000 b/d.
In this context, Zadco is working on the Zirku Facilities Capacity Enhancement Project.
This Zirku island processing capacity expansion is to meet with the additional oil and gas production to come from the Upper Zakum further development project called UZ750 by reference to the 2017 production target.
With Zirku Facilities Capacity Enhancement Project, Zadco will add:
- Two oil processing trains, the 5th and a 6th trains
- Gas central processing facilities, called Zirku Gas Treatment Plant (GPT)
Zadco is planning to increase capacity from current 580,000 b/d to 1 million b/d.
In 2011, Zadco awarded Foster Wheeler a pre-FEED contract to perform an availability and reliability study on Zirku island oil and gas processing facilities.
Based on site surveys, Foster Wheeler provided Zadco with recommendations to:
- Increase production from actual and future oil and gas processing units
- Identify options for potential expansion
- Propose debottlenecking initiatives
- Perform availability and reliability master plan for existing and future facilities
Zirku island oil and gas processing facilities are actually running with four oil processing trains, three in operations and one in stand by.
The planned expansion is to add a 5th and 6th oil processing trains to nearly double production.
Foster Wheeler completed Zadco Zirku island expansion pre-FEED
The conclusions of Foster Wheeler’s pre-FEED work are the basis for the front end engineering and design (FEED) contract to be tendered by Zadco.
Then the FEED contract will also include:
- Basic design for the oil processing trains and gas treatment plant (GTP)
- Tie-in of the new capacities within the existing facilities
- Safety review to perform modifications while running in operation
-Costs estimates
- Planning for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work
To complete the Zirku Facilities Capacity Enhancement Project in 2017, in line with Upper Zakum 750 project field development project, Zadco is planning to send the Call for Tender of this FEED work on the coming weeks in order to award the FEED contract on second quarter 2013 and the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract on early 2015.
