In order to meet the growing domestic and global demand for natural gas and its diversified targets, Saudi Aramco elected to increase production in undeveloped offshore natural gas fields. Since 2008, Saudi Aramco has planned and developed three offshore non-associated gas fields at Arabiyah, Hasbah and Karan.Saudi Aramco's offshore gas fields are unique. The presence of elemental sulfur, risk of hydrate formation, large slug volume and the reservoir's excessive pressure and temperature are key factors that made Arabiyah-Hasbah fields different from other gas fields around the world. Few gas processing facilities in the world have experienced such extreme parameters, including impurities and corrosiveness, all at the same time.The distinctive nature of the fields has introduced complex and sensitive systems and new technologies to Saudi Aramco. In order to ensure safe and reliable operation of the fields and the offshore gas processing facilities, all newly introduced technologies and complex systems were mandated to be manufactured, tested and accepted according to Saudi Aramco's specifications and requirements. This paper will detail the challenges, faced by the project team, involved in the development of the offshore gas fields, specifically Arabiyah and Hasbah, and the solutions implemented to achieve the gas production targets.
An improvement in the engineering, procurement and fabrication of offshore facilities was needed to support the Crude Production Program. The standardization of wellhead platforms was initiated by Saudi Aramco with the intent of developing a design suitable across all of its offshore oil fields. This resulted in the introduction of an innovative, standardized offshore wellhead platform design. The newly designed wellhead platform structure has an optimized layout to handle current and future operational requirements. The standard design using a 3D model was used repeatedly, eliminating the need for a customized design. The standardized design enabled the advanced procurement of bulk materials and long lead equipment to support the fabrication yards for efficient execution of the offshore workload. This reduced the lead time for all new offshore platforms. As a result, the delivery of the supporting structures ("jackets") based on the standard design was also improved, which supported the drilling program. The standard design allowed the implementation of Long Term Agreement (LTA) contracts with unit rates resulting in an optimized schedule and cost savings. This approach allowed the Offshore Program to secure the scarce offshore resources in the region exclusively. This provided an opportunity for Saudi Aramco to develop an inKingdom fabrication yard, which has already delivered numerous projects. The standardized design eased fabrication procedures and assisted the contractor to fabricate multiple platforms in parallel tracks based on similar designs. As a result, the transportation and installation procedures were simplified and made applicable for multiple facilities with optimization leading to a reduced installation schedule.
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