ADNOC Sour Gas, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), has announced that the construction of a new sulphur pipeline is on track for its Shah sour gas field.
Image: ADNOC building new sulphur pipeline for Shah sour gas field. Photo courtesy of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
The new pipeline will transport molten sulphur produced by the company’s Shah sour gas field, located around 180km south-west of Abu Dhabi.
ADNOC Sour Gas will use the additional pipeline to move the liquid sulphur from the main processing plant to the granulation sulphur plant.
At the granulation facility, the sulphur is granulated, stockpiled, and transported, via rail, to a sulphur handling terminal at ADNOC’s Ruwais Downstream hub.
The company exports granulated sulphur to fertilizer customers around the world.
The new sulphur pipeline is expected to begin operations next year.
ADNOC Sour Gas said: “The pipeline, which will cater for future Sulphur production expansion, create greater value from a main commodity of sour gas processing and increase flexibility around existing operations, is scheduled to be commissioned in 2019.”
MMEC Mannesmann (Germany) is responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of the new pipeline.
By partnering with Occidental Petroleum, ADNOC is advancing its plans to increase sour gas processing by 50% of existing capacity. The expansion of the Shah processing facilities is expected to make ADNOC one of the world’s largest producers of sulphur.
The firm said: “Today, out of the one billion cubic of sour gas processed each day, the Shah plant produces 500 million cubic feet per day of network gas, 4,400 tons per day of Natural Gas liquids, 33,000 barrels per day of petroleum condensates and around 10,000 tons per day of pure granulated Sulphur.”
ADNOC Sour Gas, a joint venture between ADNOC and Occidental Petroleum, operates the Shah sour gas field and associated processing facilities.
The Al Hosn Shah sour gas field was estimated to produce 504 million cubic feet of natural gas, 33 thousand barrels of condensates, 4,400 tons of natural gas liquids and 9,900 tons of sulphur granules.
The $10bn Al Hosn sour gas project was inaugurated in April 2016.