From Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi will look increasingly to the offshore as it bids to ramp up oil output to 3.5 MMbbl/d over the next five years from 2.7 MMbbl/d currently.

Overall investments will hit $25 billion over the period, despite the current depressed state of the oil and gas industry, delegates at the ADIPEC conference were told.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) will focus increasingly on new offshore developments at Umm Lulu, Nasr (SEN, 32/9) and Satah Al Razboot (SARB), as well as a major upgrade of the Upper Zakum oil field.

ADNOC subsidiary ADMA-OPCO is investing an estimated US $16 billion in the three new offshore fields to boost the country’s oil output by 270 Mb/d.

The Umm Lulu supercomplex consists of five main bridge-linked platforms, while Nasr consists of four platforms which will also be linked with bridges.

The National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC), Hyundai Heavy Industries and Technip are the main contractors on the Nasr project.

NPCC is responsible for the construction of seven wellhead towers, laying of 110 km of infield pipelines, an excess gas pipeline of 32 km and a main export oil line of 70 km.

Full production from Nasr is planned for the fourth quarter 2018.

Facilities to process crude from the Umm Lulu and SARB fields are being installed on Zirku island, with start-up anticipated in the fourth quarter 2017.

ADMA-OPCO CEO Ali Rashid Al Jarwan told delegates at ADIPEC’s first dedicated offshore and marine conference that the company was continuing to award projects even in the difficult operating times.

“We have to help each other to develop very strong relationships and foster innovation,” he added.

He said ADMA-OPCO is also in the process of acquiring the world’s largest seismic survey over 2,730 sq km of Abu Dhabi’s offshore.

FMC takes aim

Besides investment in major projects such as artificial islands and supercomplexes, there is also scope for smaller scale marginal developments and brownfield expansions in the Emirate’s offshore.

Sean Walters, FMC Technologies’ business development manager for shallow water production systems in the region, told SEN, “Shallow water technologies are ideal for marginal reservoirs and for brownfield expansions. It’s really looking at the cost efficiency against putting in a jacket or an island.

“In those cases it may be easier to put in a small one to four well development in place of putting in a higher cost jacket or island.”

FMC is looking to replicate work it has done off Mexico and for ONGC on the Mumbai High field offshore India in the Middle East.

The company is spotlighting its JXT shallow water subsea trees as a solution for operators seeking to exploit stranded reserves near existing infrastructure.

Walters added, “These can be used on brownfield projects where they have run out of slots on the platform and are looking at how they can fill that capacity without putting in another platform.

“In those cases it may make sense to put in two or three satellite wells to help get the production profile back up.”

He said FMC had been in discussions with ADNOC and some of its subsidiaries although “we haven’t started talking project specifics.”

He said most of the applications being looked at are in less than 150 m water depths and preferably in less than 75 m for cost reasons, “because once you go over 75m you get into saturation diving which is a bit more complex.”

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