Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC awards $744m EPC contract to NPCC

UAE state-owned energy company Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has awarded a $744m (Dhs2.73bn) contract for the full field development of the Belbazem Offshore Block.

Al Yasat Petroleum Operations Company (Al Yasat), ADNOC’s subsidiary and joint venture with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), awarded the contract to the National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC). The block consists of three offshore fields – Belbazem, Umm Al Salsal, and Umm Al Dholou.

The scope of the award covers engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning activities for the offshore facilities, and will enable Belbazem to achieve crude oil production capacity of 45,000 bpd, and is expected to be operational by 2023.

The contract aims to foster the company’s attempt to maximise value from Abu Dhabi fields as it expands its oil production capacity to 5 million barrels per day by 2030. The EPC contract will see 65 per cent of the award value flow back into the UAE economy under ADNOC’s In-Country Value (ICV) programme.

Yaser Saeed Almazrouei, ADNOC upstream executive director, said: “This award demonstrates our commitment to maximise value from all of Abu Dhabi’s hydrocarbon resources for the benefit of the UAE and our partners. NPCC was selected after a rigorous tender process that ensures it will deploy best-in-class technology and expertise to execute this strategic project, with a substantial part of the award value flowing back into the UAE’s economy to stimulate local economic growth, in line with the wise directives of our leadership.”

Al Yasat deployed a front-end engineering design (FEED) competition among bidders, reducing the original tender time by up to 12 months by removing the need for technical bids. It enabled savings of approximately $190m (Dhs697.3m) in capital expenditure.

“The FEED competition and EPC award for the Belbazem Offshore Block highlight Al Yasat’s focus on costs and competitive approach to ensure we can commercially develop our concession areas and deliver long-term and sustainable value for ADNOC and our partner CNPC,” noted Shaheen Al Mansoori, acting CEO of Al Yasat.

The project scope also covers the development of greenfield facilities for water injection, produced water treatment, gas compression, and associated utilities as well as brownfield works for tie-in to existing facilities at Zirku Island Al Yasat’s concession areas cover two blocks; one offshore and one mixed onshore/offshore.

The offshore block includes oil fields at Bu Haseer, Belbazem, Umm Al Salsal, Umm Al Dholou, and Arzanah while the onshore/offshore block is located southwest of Abu Dhabi city.