Backgroud
Upper Zakum offshore oil field is located approximately 84km off the coast of Abu Dhabi, UAE. With estimated proven crude oil reserves of 50 billion barrels, Upper Zakum is one of the world’s biggest oil fields.
The giant offshore oil field covers more than 1,150km² in water depths of 6m-13m in the Persian Gulf and extends up to 8,000ft below the sea bed.
Upper Zakum is also one of the world’s most innovative offshore oil field to have adopted artificial island-based development concept, and advanced reservoir simulation and extended-reach drilling technologies to steadily boost its production capacity.
Following the discovery of Upper Zakum oil field in 1963, Zakum Development Company (ZADCO) was formed in November 1977 to develop the field, in which ADNOC held 88% interest and INPEX the remaining 12% stake.
The field was brought on stream in 1982 and has 450 wells tied-back to approximately 100 offshore platforms to attain the 500,000bpd production capacity as of 2006.
Upper Zakum oil field is owned by Zakum Development Company (ZADCO), a joint venture of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC, 60%), ExxonMobil (28%), and Japan Oil Development Company (Jodco, 12%), a wholly-owned subsidiary of INPEX.
The partners in ZADCO started exploring artificial island-based development options in the same year, in order to increase the production to 750,000bpd with the use of extended-reach drilling technology to increase oil recovery, while minimising infrastructure needs.
Brief Introduction
The construction of artificial islands started soon after the completion of feasibility study in 2010.The key contracts for the production and processing facilities of the $10bn redevelopment project called UZ750 Project at Upper Zakum were awarded in 2012 and 2013.The construction of the island was completed in 2014 and production from one of the newly built islands commenced in the same year.The production capacity reached 750,000bpd with the installation of all modules on the islands, in 2017.
Phases:
- Phase 1 includes construction of early production facilities, to boost production at the field by 100,000 barrels per day (b/d) and test the viability of the development by 2015.
- Phase 2 involves Zadco building permanent production facilities, which will boost production to 150,000 barrels per day (b/d) by 2016.
- Phase 3 includes smaller projects to sustain production at the planned 750,000 barrels per day (b/d).
Details of the UZ750 Project at Upper Zakum:
The current UZ750 project involves the construction of four production artificial islands comprising of a central complex, which will house the processing facilities, and the north, south and west satellite platforms.
The first phase of the project involves the development of the offshore facilities. It includes the laying of 240km of subsea pipelines, 128km of subsea composite and fibre-optic cables and installing 30,000t of offshore structures such as jackets, riser platforms, flare towers and bridges, as well as approximately 3,000t of islands modules and bridges.
The second phase involves the development of the facilities on the four artificial islands, including wellhead control, manifolds, crude oil process facilities, water injection and gas lift, booster gas compression facilities, oil export pumps, power generation and ancillary utilities, and modification of the existing facilities. Up to 22 production modules comprising a wellhead control and oil processing unit are being constructed as part of the second phase. The facilities are expected to come on stream in 2018.
The project also involves the construction of accommodation facilities for 2,150 people, supporting buildings and permanent utilities such as recreational areas, a mosque, and operations and drilling offices.In October 2015, Petrofac delivered the first two modules for ZADCO’s Upper Zakum, UZ750 project.
Development of artificial islands at Upper Zakum:
The islands were developed by utilising new technologies. The extended reach drilling (ERD) technology initially enables the wells to be drilled vertically, following which they can be drilled horizontally to target reservoirs up to several miles away. Another innovative technology being used is the maximum reservoir contact (MRC) which reduces the number of new wells and unlocks tighter areas in the reservoir.
The four islands, which are oval in shape and measure 2,000ft to 2,600ft in diameter, were constructed of sand and rock. The rocks were transported to the site from quarries in the UAE. The islands were constructed on water depths ranging between 5m and 15m.
The construction works for the islands involved 20 million cubic metres of dredging and levelling, as well as 20 million cubic metres of ground amelioration, and utilised seven million tonnes of stones, artificial fabrics and concrete units for the beach protection. The civil works of four artificial islands was completed in 2015.
Current rights and interests
Operators :Zakum Development Company(ZADCO)（ADNOC: 60% interest，ExxonMobil: 28% interest，Japan Oil Development Company: 12% interest）
Company behavior
Contractors:
ABB: will install additional power generation facilities to improve overall energy efficiency and operational flexibility
AMEC: PMC contract
Columbia Industries: Multiple pad drilling project
CH2M Hill: Conceptual study
Habtoor Leighton Group (HLG) joint venture for the design and construction of accommodation and utilities:Leighton Holdings,Al Habtoor business empire
Consortium for engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation, commissioning and start-up:Technip,NPCC
Consortium for engineering and construction contracts: Petrofac,Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering
Mott MacDonald: Zakum Water Injection Upgrade Project
National Marine Dredging Company: Artificial Islands
Prysmian Group: the design and manufacture of submarine cable links for the replacement of power feeding systems
Tebodin Consulting Engineers: Initial study
Technip: FEED contract and ZADCO EPC contract for the first phase of full field development
WorleyParsons: FEED for Wellhead Towers
Specialist Services: Contract for the provision of Local Equipment Rooms and Local Control Rooms buildings for the Upper Zakum 750 Island Surface Facility Project
3W Networks: Telecommunication Systems of the Upper Zakum UZ750 Field Development Project
Xodus Group: Contract for the vibration assessment and analysis on the oil train piping and structures for Zakum Development Company (ZADCO) at Zirku Island, 140km north-west of Abu Dhabi. The work, valued at over US$600,000, will pull in services from Xodus’ process, piping, instrumentation and structural teams. The 24-week project will include a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) scope of work. With its advanced oil and gas installations, Zirku is considered the main industrial base for the processing, storage and export of oil from the Upper Zakum, Umm Al-Dalkh and Satah fields. The company secured a three-year contract to deliver rotating machinery condition monitoring services with rotating machinery vibration analysis and risk management.
Amec Foster Wheeler: Extension: Project Management Consultancy (PMC) contract for the UZ750 project in the Upper Zakum (UZ) field, located 84 kms north-west of Abu Dhabi. The contract was award by the Zakum Development Company (ZADCO). Amec Foster Wheeler’s scope of work includes PMC Services to be delivered as part of an Integrated Project Management team. ZADCO will oversee the contractors’ delivery of reimbursable Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) scopes of work, as well as commissioning and start-up support of the facilities. This work is scheduled to complete in December 2017.
Sparrows Group: Five-year deal with Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (ADMA-OPCO). The successful retender through the company’s local partner, Abu Dhabi Oilfield Services, will see Sparrows Group providing the operations and maintenance support to all cranes and lifting equipment aboard offshore platforms and the Al Hyleh Barge in the UAE and Zirku Islands. The agreement which covers ADMA-OPCO’s offshore installations – the Umm Shaif Super Complex, Zakum West Super Complex and the Zakum Central Super Complex – is initially a three year contract with the option for two one year extensions.
Subcontractors:
GE Oil & Gas: Provide a turnkey turbomachinery solution to Petrofac Emirates
Speedy: Provide logistics, asset management and equipment rental services to support Zakum Development Company\'s (ZADCO) flagship UZ 750 Project.
Lamprell: Contract by Petrofac to build almost 30 modules for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc)’s giant Upper Zakum (UZ) 750 offshore oil project with the first batch set for delivery in the second quarter of 2016.
Gulf Piping Company W.L.L.: Fabrication of two piperacks as part of a wider scope of work, which sailed from the yard in Mussafah. This represented a combined weight of more than 800 tonnes with the largest module approx. 60 metres long. (October 2015)