Oil & Gas Journal
July 14, 2008
Volume 106; Issue 26
Aramco to hike oil production capacity by 850,000 b/d
Watkins, Eric
Saudi Aramco, repeating long-announced plans, will increase production by yearend by a combined 850,000 b/d from its Khursaniyah , Nuayyim, and Shaybah fields, according to a senior official.
Amin Al Nasser, Aramco's senior vice-president for exploration and production, said the company will bring Khursaniyah on stream by yearend, adding 500,000 b/d of oil production, while boosting output at Shaybah to 750,000 b/d from 500,000 b/d, and bringing newly developed Nuayyim field to 100,000 b/d.
Looking farther ahead, Al Nasser said his country's output will increase by an additional 900,000 b/d in fourthquarter 2009 when Aramco will bring on stream its large-scale Manifa heavy oil field, where construction is now 55%) complete.
Last month, Saudi officials acknowledged that the Khursaniyah oil field expansion project, which it had planned to bring on stream last December, was still not producing oil, but that much of its 500,000 b/d capacity is ready.
According to Khalid al Falih, Aramco's executive vice-president of operations, the delayed start-up was due to problems in the construction of a gas processing plant in the field. While the Saudi national firm could bring on most of Khursaniyah's capacity if needed, according to Falih, he said the gas would have to be flared - something Aramco wanted to avoid.
"The gas plant is a major delay. It's really a disappointment," Falih said. "All of it will be ready in a few months."
Oil Daily
July 25, 2008
Volume 58; Issue 143
Saipem wins Manifa award.(International)(Saudi Arabian Oil Co.)(Brief article)
Saudi Aramco has awarded Italian oil services giant Saipem a lump sum turnkey contract for the 900,000 barrel per day Manifa project, Saipem said Thursday.
The Italian firm won the engineering, procurement and construction contract to build three gas/oil separation (Gosp) units, each with a capacity of 300,000 b/d. Saipem said it will also complete the gas dehydration, crude inlet manifolds and flare gas system.
Industry sources suggested Aramco was holding off because of the large number of oil and gas projects being carried out in the kingdom almost simultaneously, tying up available materials and labor.
Snamprogetti is trying to get the first of two trains for the 500,000 b/d Khursaniyah Gosp up and running by August. That would be 11 months behind the scheduled completion date. The Italian company is also building the Gosp and several other units for the 1.2 million b/d Khurais project, which Aramco steadfastly maintains will start on time by June 2009, in the face of skepticism among industry experts.
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It's already over, now it's just a matter of adjusting.