Sour Gas News

The Oil and Gas industry reported 1242 contracts, of which 1178 were awarded contracts, said Quarterly Oil & Gas Industry Contracts Review.Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region recorded the most contracts with 569 contracts, representing around 48% of the total awarded contracts in Q1 2019, followed by Americas region with 366 contracts, accounting for 31% of the total awarded contracts.Upstream sector reported 73% of the total awarded contracts, with 862 contracts. The midstream sector recorded 156 contracts, representing 13% of the total awarded contracts, followed by 141 contracts in the downstream sector; representing 12% of the awarded contracts during the quarter…

State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has awarded a contract worth Dh5 billion (USD1.36bln) to a UAE-based company for dredging, land reclamation and marine construction for artificial islands being developed as part of its offshore ultra sour Ghasha concession.The contract awarded to the UAE’s National Marine Dredging Company (NMDC) is valued at AED 5 billion (US 1.36 billion) and will achieve substantial In-Country Value of over 70 percent. The Ghasha Concession consists of 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…

Germany's largest crude oil and natural gas producer Wintershall Holding has appointed Helge Beuthan as new general manager of its Middle East division in Abu Dhabi.Beuthan, the current vice president for global subsurface evaluation, would take over the duties of Uwe Salge in Abu Dhabi on February 1, said a press release from the wholly owned subsidiary of BASF.The previous General Manager will return to Wintershall in Kassel, where he will take over Beuthan's area of responsibility.Helge Beuthan has been with Wintershall since 1995 and brings with him extensive E&P experience from various positions, such as the German oil and gas activities in Barnstorf…

Sour service fluids from wells place significant demands on pipeline material, particularly in deeper water. This can present major technical and financial challenges for pipeline operators as the fluids can cause fractures and cracks which affect pipeline performance and reliability. DNV GL has now launched a joint industry project (JIP) to develop a methodology to evaluate fractures and cracks using a Single Edge Notched Tensile (SENT) test designed specifically for sour service environments. Eight participants are on board and the JIP is still open for new participants. A pipe material and weld that performs well in air will be significantly less tough and resistant in a sour environment.

Siemens Energy and Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, signed an agreement to cooperate in the commercialization of a new, jointly developed sour gas shift (SGS) technology for coal gasification. The agreement appoints Clariant as the exclusive catalyst supplier for all projects where Siemens offers sour gas shift ("SGS") systems. While the collaboration covers all global projects, commercialization will focus on China – the region with the highest growth rate of coal-to-chemical projects. Stefan Heuser, Head of the Catalysts Business Unit at Clariant, stated: "This global cooperation is a very important step in marketing our innovative catalysts for coal-to-chemical applications.

In the operation and development of a sour gas field, a key challenge is ensuring the process safety and integrity of the asset and, most importantly, the safety of the personnel working with high concentrations of hydrogen sulphide (H2S). To help the industry manage the risks throughout the project’s lifecycle, DNV GL has now initiated a Joint Industry Project (JIP). Operators are invited to join this JIP to obtain synergies through the development of guidelines on design, construction, operations and training.

Chevron Corporation's China subsidiary signs production sharing contracts for exploration blocks in the Pearl River Estuary, South China Sea. Chevron's agreement is with China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). Under the PSC agreements, Chevron China Energy Company will hold a 100 percent interest in blocks 15/10 and 15/28 in the Pearl River Mouth Basin. During the exploration phase Chevron China Energy Company will be the operator of the two shallow water blocks, which in total cover an area of approximately 2,233 square miles (5,782 square km). “Exploration of these blocks builds on our strategy to grow our business across the Asia Pacific region, where we are developing LNG, deepwater, shale and sour gas resources,” said George Kirkland, vice chairman, Chevron Corporation.

Technip was awarded a contract by Kuwait Gulf Oil Company (KGOC), for the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning assistance of their Gas and Condensate Export System project. The project is spread over onshore and offshore locations in two countries, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The objective of the project is to deliver a combination of lean gas, condensate and sour gas through a single 12” export pipeline from Al Khafji Joint Operations (KJO) facilities in Saudi Arabia to Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) tie-in facility,namely the Intermediate Slug Catcher being constructed under KOC Project No EF/1718 near Al-Ahmadi, Kuwait.

His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, The Emir of Qatar officially inaugurated the Pearl Gas to Liquids (GTL) Project, the largest GTL plant in the world and the largest energy project in the state of Qatar. Visiting dignitaries including HRH Prince Andrew, The Duke of York, toured the facility and were briefed on the state-of-the-art technologies used to convert natural gas resources from Qatar’s North Field into high quality liquid fuels and products that will be sold at premium all over the world. Pearl GTL has been jointly developed by Qatar Petroleum and Shell creating an additional route for Qatar to generate value from its enormous supply of gas.

Aker Solutions has signed an agreement to acquire the well intervention technology business from X3M (pronounced "Extreme") International. The acquisition will grow Aker Solutions' well intervention technology and service portfolio worldwide as well as increase the company's presence in the important Middle East market. X3M is an international niche provider of down-hole intervention service tools and technology products. Its core products are innovative down-hole tools like plugs, packers, hangers, valves and a complete range of setting and recovery tools.

Qatar Petroleum and Shell today announced the first flow of dedicated offshore gas into the Pearl GTL plant located in Ras Laffan Industrial City in the State of Qatar. Shell, which is the operator of the Pearl GTL plant developed under a Production and Sharing Agreement with QP, has opened natural gas wells offshore allowing the first sour gas to flow through a subsea pipeline into the giant GTL plant onshore. Sections of the Pearl GTL plant will be started up progressively over the coming months.

RAK Petroleum Public Company Limited has chartered the first Topaz Wave Piercer for use in the Gulf the company announced. Designed by Incat Holdings Limited of Australia and built by Topaz Marine based in Dubai, the long-term charter vessel will be used for production crews commuting to and from the Company's offshore Oman platforms. "The use of a fast, stable and fuel-efficient crew vessel will significantly reduce our transportation operating costs and provide more safety for our crew as they commute from Ras Al Khaimah to our platforms in the Strait of Hormuz…

Valco Group announced its entrance into the market for industrial valves. The new group, with revenues of about $100m in 2008, currently operates in the oil & gas, marine and energy & industry sectors. Valco Group has been formed from the Norwegian and French valve operations of the former Flowtech division of Technor Group. Valco Group, with its head office in Stavanger (Norway), has five operational units: The factory Westad Industri in Norway, the two French factories: Malbranque and SNRI…

TECHNIP-COFLEXIP has been awarded, by Saudi Arabian Oil Company SAUDI ARAMCO, for the expansion of the Berri gas plant to handle additional output of sour gas from the Qatif field, which is now under development. TECHNIP-COFLEXIP will provide a low-pressure gas sweetening unit, two new sulfur recovery units, a new feed gas compressor, the revamp and capacity increase of the existing propane refrigeration unit, the upgrade of the existing sulfur recovery units to meet higher recovery rates, the upgrade of the inlet and flare facilities, additional sulfur storage capacity and the expansion of the existing utility systems to serve the new facilities.