ADNOC awarded a $1.36-billion dredging, land reclamation, and marine construction contract to the UAE’s National Marine Dredging Company (NMDC) for the construction of multiple artificial islands in the first phase of development of the Ghasha Concession.
The Ghasha Concession comprises the Hail, Ghasha, Dalma, Nasr, and Mubarraz offshore sour gas fields. Under the terms of the contract, NMDC will construct 10 new artificial islands and two causeways, and it will expand an existing island (Al Ghaf). The project is expected to take 38 months to complete and will provide the infrastructure required to further develop, drill, and produce gas from the sour gas fields in the Ghasha Concession.
ADNOC said in a statement that the artificial islands will, among other things, provide greater flexibility for extended-reach drilling compared to offshore rigs. They will also eliminate the need to dredge more than 100 locations for new wells.
The Ghasha Concession is expected to produce more than 1.5 Bcf/D of gas when it comes on stream in the mid-2020s. ADNOC said it also expects to produce more than 120,000 BOPD.
