UAE’s Shah gas project hits full output capacity – official

The Shah gas project which began operations this year in the United Arab Emirates has reached its full production capacity, a top company official said on Tuesday.

“We have ramped up to full production, which is one billion cubic feet per day (bcf),” Saif Ahmed al Ghafli, chief executive of Al Hosn Gas, told reporters on the sideline of an conference in Abu Dhabi.

Al Hosn Gas is the Shah gas development joint venture in which Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc) holds a 60 per cent share and US-based Occidental Petroleum the other 40 per cent.

The multi-billion dollar project is meant to produce usable gas from Shah’s high-sulphur field.

The project is expected to process sour gas into 0.5 bcf/d of usable gas in the remote desert and is vital for keeping the UAE supplied with fuel and reducing its growing gas imports.

The UAE is investing $35bn to diversify its energy mix and reduce its dependence on natural gas imports for power generation, the country’s energy minister said on Sunday.