Saudi Aramco To Begin Juaymah Gas Plant In September 2009

Published: 07-Jul-2009

By: Staff Writer Staff Writer Staff Writer

Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) is planning to begin the expanded Juaymah gas plant in September 2009, sources working on the project told Reuters. Initially, the start- up of the plant was planned in June 2009, after several postponements from the first plan to start in the first quarter of 2008. The plant expansion will add 260,000 barrels per day (bpd) of extra capacity to the Juaymah plant, increasing its capacity to 815,000 bpd.

Difficulties during the mechanical commissioning caused the delay, one source told Reuters.

The capacity at Juaymah plant is increased by around 50% to hold elevated volumes of petrochemical feedstock ethane and light oils that form when gas is extracted, called natural gas liquids (NGLs). The increased ethane and NGL production comes from the expansion of the Hawiyah gas plant and the building of the Khursaniyah gas plant.

The expansion of Hawiyah gas plant will start in August-September 2009, a source working on the project said.

Additionally, 800 million cubic feet per day (cfd) of non-associated gas will be processed by the plant, increasing the plant's capacity to 2.4 bcfd.

Mechanical completion of the plant will be by the end of August, he said.

The Khursaniyah gas plant scheduled to start in October 2009 was postponed around two years from the planned start date of December 2007. 1bcfd of gas will be processed by the plant from the 500,000 bpd Khursaniyah oilfield, which started production in 2008.