1 MB pdf - Saudi Aramco

Shaybah, located deep in the Rub' al-Khali, has delivered500,000 bpd of Arabian Extra Light crude oil since 1998.Construction activities have commenced to increaseproduction capacity to 750,000 bpd by late 2008.Major installations include a gas-oil separation plant aswell as gas gathering, compression and injection facilities.Manifa, originally discovered in 1957 and produceduntil 1984 when world demand for crude oil slumped,is the fifth largest crude oil field in the world. We areplanning to redevelop the field with new onshore andoffshore wells to produce 900,000 bpd of heavy crudeoil and 105 million scfd of sour gas.In collaboration with King Fahd University of Petroleum& Minerals (KFUPM), we conducted studies to determinehow best to mitigate the environmental impact of theManifa project created by the construction of 25 miles(41 km) of causeway and a 1.9 mile (3 km) bridge tosupport 27 drilling islands in the shallow waters of theArabian Gulf. There will also be 11 offshore platformsfor deeper water producing and injection wells.Onshore facilities for the Manifa project will include ninedrill sites, a central oil and gas processing facility, watersupply wells and injection facilities, and multiple gathering,water injection and product distribution pipelines. Drillingis set to begin by the end of 2009, and the incrementis scheduled to come on-stream by mid-2011.Nuayyim, a field in central Saudi Arabia, is slated toadd 100,000 bpd of Arabian Super Light crude oil by2008. Construction will commence on the grass-rootsproduction facilities in 2007.We also commissioned and began operations at fourthird-party cogeneration plants, located at 'Uthmaniyah,Shedgum and Ju’aymah gas plants and Ras TanuraRefinery. The cogen plants will produce 1,050 megawattsof electrical power for the gas plants and refinery, andharness exhaust from the power stations to produce 4.4million pounds per day of high pressure steam.Managing mega-projects involves much more thanengineering and construction: We are enhancing variousproject management processes, such as standardizingprocurement processes and equipment designs, increasingthe productivity of local design and constructioncontractors, and leveraging capital program data forimproved planning. We are also fast-tracking ourcontracting, design and purchasing activities.In addition to our work on the current roster of megaprojects,we also accomplished an impressive string ofother major projects.One example is a group of Maintain Potential projects.These projects are designed to ensure that we meet ourcommitment to the world's energy needs by maintainingour targeted maximum sustained production capability.In 2006, we connected 237 new oil and water wellsonshore, increasing oil production capacity by more than1 million bpd. We also connected 23 new gas wells,increasing gas production by 500 million scfd to supplyGhawar-area gas plants.Offshore, 23 new platforms were installed and 38new wells were connected. To support increased drillingactivities, 11 drilling support jackets were fabricated andinstalled in only 11 months, in contrast to a normal18-22 month schedule.Work continued in the offshore Safaniyah field to install42 electrical submersible pumps to boost production by150,000 bpd. The project also involves installation of a3,000-ton tie-in platform and the upgrade of sevenexisting platforms by early 2007.In conjunction with our projects to increase crude oilproduction capacity, we are expanding our distributionnetwork.ANNUAL REVIEW 2006 25