By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Apr. 12 -- Saudi Aramco has signed five major contracts to expand production from Shaybah oil field in the Rub' al Khali region on the eastern edge of Saudi Arabia's vast Empty Quarter desert.
Currently, Shaybah has 141 wells that produce more than 500,000 b/d. The expansion will boost production by 250,000 b/d by yearend 2008.
Shaybah field, discovered in 1968 and brought on stream in 1998, is 13 km wide and 64 km long. The field produces 42º gravity Arab Extra Light crude oil from Shuaiba pay at an average depth of 4,650 ft. The crude is virtually sulfur-free and high in its gasoline fraction (OGJ, Apr. 5, 2004, p. 18).
Saudi Aramco hired SNC-Lavalin of Canada for engineering, procurement, and construction of the central producing facilities and Hyundai Heavy Industries for power generation. Three other contractors, all based in Saudi Arabia, received contracts for power transmission and site development, including a residential complex.
Existing facilities consist of wells, flowlines, trunklines, crude transfer pipelines, and facilities to separate gas from oil prior to transport to Abqaiq. The expansion provides a grassroots facility for gas and oil separation; gas gathering, compression, and injection facilities; crude oil-handling, air, and water utilities to support the process; and increased pipeline capacity. Additional permanent housing also will be constructed at the existing residential and industrial complex.
