Dana Gas awards contract for Zora offshore field

Abu Dhabi: Dana Gas, the Middle East's leading regional private sector natural gas company, announced yesterday that Adyard Abu Dhabi, a subsidiary of Interserve Plc, has been awarded a US$17 million contract for the fabrication of an offshore platform for the Zora Field Development Project, which spans the territorial waters of Sharjah and Ajman. The platform is an important element in the overall scope of the Zora project, the aim of which is to extract the reserves from the Zora field through an offshore facility and to transport them via a 35km subsea pipeline to an onshore gas processing facility located in Sharjah. Fabrication of the platform will be carried out by Adyard and will include the manufacture and erection of the structure and the different deck levels. Adyard will also prepare the finished platform for safe and secure its loading onto a transportation vessel. The platform will eventually be installed in a water depth of 24 meters, along with associated facilities. The contract with Adyard was signed at the Sharjah Petroleum Council, in the presence of Sheikh Mohamed bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Director General of the Chairman's Office of Sharjah Petroleum Council, Waleed Deemas, Secretary General of the Sharjah Petroleum Council, Marwan Al Ali, Representative of Ajman Government and Rashid Al Jarwan, Executive Director of Dana Gas along with other Government representatives and senior company officials from both Dana Gas and Adyard. Dr. Patrick Allman-Ward, Chief Executive Officer of Dana Gas, said, "This contract is the first strategically significant development towards bringing the Zora gas field on-stream. The capital investment of US$160 million in the project during the project execution phase will contribute to both the local and regional economy. "During the operational phase, we will utilise locally sourced gas to contribute in adding value and development to the economy of the UAE by supplying Zora Field gas that will generate a significant portion of the domestic fuel supply. The appointment of Adyard Abu Dhabi marks the start of a commitment programme with awards of contracts for other aspects of the work to follow in due course. "The company expects to start delivering 40 million cubic feet per day of gas in the first half of 2015". Speaking on the occasion, Dana Gas Executive Director, Rashid Al Jarwan, said, "Dana Gas is proud to play its positive role in developing the Zora gas field, marking the first exploration and production project for the company in the UAE and GCC region. The produced gas will be used mainly as a fuel source that will make significant savings in fuel cost. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with the Governments of Sharjah and Ajman." In November 2012, Dana Gas signed a set of agreements with the Sharjah and Ajman Governments to jointly develop the shared field, located around 40 kilometres off the coasts of the two emirates. The deal, for which Dana Gas is 100% operator, included a unitisation agreement for management of the shared field, gas sales and purchase agreements, and the joint operating agreement. Dana Gas already operates gas and other hydrocarbon facilities in Egypt and the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and has an onshore gas processing plant in Sajaa, Sharjah. – Emirates News Agency, WAM