Sour Power

Sour gas production is set to take off in the region as leading experts converge on Abu Dhabi.

Bringing together leading industry experts and clients this month will be the SOGAT 2008 conference held in Abu Dhabi.

The Emirate and capital of the UAE has been selected as the annual home of the region's principal sour gas event because it is home to the sour sector's most exciting regional developments.

As development projects in Dubai and Abu Dhabi continue to grow at a remarkable pace, so too has the energy requirement that comes with it.

Desalination, construction and industrial power demands are increasing at an exponential rate, and though efforts such as the Masdar initiative will curb future requirement growth, it is essential the UAE works to harness the assets at its disposal.

"The dolphin project is now running at full consumption of its current phase and the gas that's supplied to the UAE is very close to maximum capacity, so alternatives need to be looked at.

In the short term it's imperative that the UAE exploits what resources it possesses , and there are considerable sour gas reserves," explains Nick Coles, founder and organiser of the SOGAT conference and exhibition.

The UAE's estimated natural gas reserves stand at around 214 trillion cubic feet. This puts the UAE fourth among the largest natural gas reserves in the Middle East after Iran, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.

However, the high sulphur content of that gas has made full exploitation problematic up to now. Abu Dhabi holds the dominant share of the country's reserves with proven fields of around 195 trillion cubic feet.

In Abu Dhabi the complexities envisaged in the development of the Shah and Bab fields have led to a rethink as to how best to optimise the gas potential of these sour fields against the considerable financial requirements involved, with the sour gas development project initiating these significant developments.

"ADNOC have put out a tender to develop the Shah and Bab fields in conjunction with an IOC. This will expedite field development in the short term, and concurrently provide gas to fuel the UAE's considerable industrial, commercial and domestic power requirements," says Coles.

It is expected that an announcement will be made soon confirming ADNOC's partner, a tender that has drawn great interest for several reasons.