ABB wins $100m contract to supply offshore oilfields in Abu Dhabi

The Nasr field is part of Adma-Opco’s programme to add an extra 300,000 bpd capacity to Abu Dhabi’s overall production levels. Courtesy ABB

The Swiss power and automation company ABB has won a US$100 million contract to supply offshore oilfields in Abu Dhabi.

Zurich-based ABB yesterday said that it had received orders for electrical and telecommunication systems from South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries, which last year won a US$1.94 billion contract from the offshore oilfield operator Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (Adma-Opco) to build an offshore oil and gas platform for Nasr Field.

Work on Nasr Field, which lies 130 kilometres off the coast of Abu Dhabi, is due to be completed by the second half of 2019. It will raise the daily production capacity of the offshore field to 65,000 barrels per day by the end of 2018 from 22,000 bpd presently.

“The solution provided consists of power management, power-from-shore and telecom systems which are interconnected to ensure the highest levels of efficiency, reliability and safety,” said ABB.

The Nasr field is part of Adma-Opco’s programme to add an extra 300,000 bpd capacity to Abu Dhabi’s overall production levels, which is part of the emirate’s broader strategy to raise production capacity from a current level of about 3 million bpd to 3.5 million bpd by 2017 and 2018.

Last October, Adma-Opco said oil began flowing from Umm Lulu, a major offshore field development. It began flowing at a rate of 5,000 bpd and is expected to reach 22,000 bpd by the end of this year and its full field development rate of 105,000 bpd by 2018.

Last November, Adma-Opco signed three major contracts worth $3bn for the second phase of Nasr’s development, with Abu Dhabi’s National Petroleum Construction Company, Hyundai Heavy Industries and France’s Technip.

Adma-Opco is 60 per cent owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, with shares also held by UK-based BP (14 per cent), France’s Total (13 per cent) and Japan’s Jodco (12 per cent).

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