Saipem wins contracts for Abu Dhabi gas field

Milan, May 03: Italian energy firm Saipem announced on Monday that it had won contracts worth 3.5 billion dollars (2.6 billion euros) to build a gas processing plant and pipelines in Abu Dhabi.

The three contracts were awarded by Abu Dhabi Gas Development Company Limited as part of its Shah gas field project, which is located 180 kilometres (112 miles) southwest of Abu Dhabi city, Saipem said.

The development of the gas field presents an engineering challenge because of a high concentration of sulphur.

Saipem, which is controlled by Italian energy giant ENI, will design and build a gas processing plant and a sulphur recovery unit. The facilities will enable the treatment of one billion cubic feet of gas per day.

Once the gas and sulphur are separated, the gas will be transported to other treatment facilities near Habshan and Ruwais.

Under the third contract, Saipem will design and build 250 kilometres of pipelines to transport gas, condensate and liquified natural gas from the Shah gas plant to the treatment facilities.

The work is scheduled to be completed within 52 months, or just over four years.

The announcement came five days after US energy firm ConocoPhillips announced that it was abandoning its 40 percent stake in the project.

—Agencies