UAE- Adnoc set to upgrade exploration, output

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, or Adnoc, seeks to constantly upgrade its exploration, production and refining infrastructure, its director-general Abdulla Nasser Al Suwaidi said. "Crude oil output is expected to rise to 3.5 million barrels of oil per day by 2017," he said in an interview on the sidelines of the fourth edition of Oil & Gas Year Abu Dhabi 2013, which was launched in the capital on Tuesday evening. Abu Dhabi has the worlds seventh largest oil and gas reserves and its hydrocarbons wealth has given it a GDP per capita of $109,000. At the Oil & Gas Year Abu Dhabi 2013, Al Suwaidi, said the emirate would not rest on its laurels. In the gas industry, Abu Dhabi was able to successfully overcome the challenges related to developing the first unconventional sour gas field, he said. The Shah Gas field is expected to start production by late 2014, adding to the overall gas supplies in Abu Dhabi. However, he said "there is no doubt that the oil and gas industry will continue to face some challenges amid changing consumer trends and fluctuations in global markets. This requires new strategies and skills, as the role of key players in the global energy market develops." In the downstream sector, the Abu Dhabi Refining Company with a total capacity of some 500,000 barrels per day, produces and provides refined products to both the domestic and international markets, he said. In order to meet the rising demand for refined products, the Ruwais refinery is going through an expansion that will take total refining capacity to some 900,000 barrels per day in 2014. "The expansion project will convert Ruwais into a fully integrated complex with a petrochemical division," he said. The motive behind establishing the new Adnoc subsidiary, the Abu Dhabi Gas Development Company was to develop sour gas resources at the Shah Field, located some 200km south of the capital, in the Western region. The Shah field will become operational during 2014, processing 28.3mcm of sour gas and producing approximately 14.2mcm of lean, sweet gas which will be accommodated and fed into the Abu Dhabi gas pipeline network to be used mainly in the production of water and electricity. The plant will also produce valuable products such as condensate, LPG, and ethane for the petrochemicals industry. However, satisfying the long-term demand, which is forecast, to continue to rise at a steady rate, remains a challenge.