The Ghasha ultra-sour gas concession comprises the Hail, Ghasha, Dalma, Nasr, Satah al Razboot (SARB), Bu Haseer, Shuweihat, and Mubarraz offshore sour gas fields in Abu Dhabi. As infrastructure was required to further develop, drill, and produce from the sour gas fields in the first phase of the Ghasha concession, ADNOC awarded the dredging, land reclamation, and marine construction contract to build multiple artificial islands to the UAE’s National Marine Dredging Company (NMDC). Valued at AED 5 billion, the project enables NMDC to construct 10 new artificial islands and two causeways, as well as expand an existing island, Al Ghaf.
The artificial islands are named after pearl diving sites in the area and capture the rich history of the region: Ghanem, Sawalem, Chananiz, Mudaifena, Reeah, Seebeh, Seemeh, Shalhah, Jzool, and Duroob.
The ambitious undertaking of building artificial islands for this project allows greater flexibility for an extended reach drilling and fewer wells, when compared to conventional offshore operations. In addition, the use of artificial islands will eliminate the need to dredge over 100 locations for wells and will provide habitats for marine life.
ADNOC has a proven record of developing artificial islands, including the construction of four artificial islands for the Upper Zakum expansion project. ADNOC’s Upper Zakum field is the second-largest offshore oil field and the fourth-largest oil field in the world.