MAN Turbo AG of Oberhausen (Germany) has been awarded a contract for the supply of nine compressors to the value of around €60 million to the emirate of Abu Dhabi for the expansion of the Thamama-B oil field. The purchaser is the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO). The contract forms part of an overall project awarded by ADCO to SK Engineering and Construction (SKEC) of Seoul as the general contractor.

The contract that has now been signed relates to the ‘Bab Gas Compression Project’ and focuses on the expansion of Thamama-B, one of the five most important oil fields in Abu Dhabi. ADCO thereby aims to increase its production from the existing field considerably, thus further helping to safeguard the country’s energy supply. Over 94% of the United Arab Emirates’ total oil and gas reserves can be found in Abu Dhabi. The emirate has the world’s tenth-largest gas reserves.

In addition to the tendered compressor technology, the short delivery times agreed were a key factor in the award of this contract to MAN Turbo. ADCO, the biggest oil and gas producer in the United Arab Emirates, wants to commission the installation as a whole by 2011 and increase its yield from the existing field substantially by the year 2030.

The compressor trains manufactured by MAN Turbo at its Berlin plant are used in so-called gas collecting stations. Three compressor trains operate in each of the three stations. The incoming gas is conducted there to the compressor trains, which increase its pressure. The gas is then transported via pipeline to the Gasco refinery in Habshan for further processing.

For MAN Turbo and SKEC, this is the first order for ADCO. The two companies have successfully handled a similar contract in Kuwait in the past. “We are supplying compressor technology to Abu Dhabi for ADCO for the first time. This gives us a good foothold for further activities in this region. The Middle East with its emergent economy and its important oil and gas industry is of great strategic importance for our company,” said Dr Gerhard Reiff, a member of the MAN Turbo executive board.