Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) on Tuesday announced plans to increase production capacity of two important oilfields including Upper Zakum as well as Bab oilfields to meet the growing demand from its customers. Latest technology will be used to upgrade its oilfields and increase efficiency.

At Bab, production will go up from 420,000 barrels of oil per day to 450,000 barrels of oil per day by 2020 while production at Upper Zakum oilfield will go up to one million barrels per day by 2024.

Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract has been awarded to China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation (CPECC), affiliated to China National Petroleum (CNPC) to carry out the works at Bab onshore oilfield.

The field will be upgraded using the latest technology including the deployment of cluster drilling, in which multiple oil wells are co-located in one place, for the first time at Bab, reducing cost and the environmental footprint of drilling operations.

At the same time, digital oilfield technology will be introduced to remotely monitor and analyse well performance.

“The Bab field already plays an important role in achieving Adnoc’s production capacity target of 3.5 million barrels of oil per day over the course of 2018,” said Abdul Munim Al Kindy, Director of Upstream at Adnoc.

“The deployment of advanced digital oilfield management technologies is a crucial enabler if we are to optimise recovery and deliver a more profitable upstream business, as we transform the company and balance efficiencies with the right investments for growth.”

Adnoc will also be increasing the production capacity of the Upper Zakum oilfield, which is the second largest offshore oilfield and the fourth largest oilfield in the world to 1 million barrels per day by 2024.

ExxonMobil and Inpex have been granted a 10-year extension for the concession, which was due to expire on December 31, 2041, until December 31, 2051 to develop Upper Zakum oilfield.

Oil was first discovered in Upper Zakum in 1963 and in 1978, Jodco, a wholly-owned Inpex subsidiary, partnered with Adnoc in developing the field, followed by Exxon, in 2006.

In the same year, the Upper Zakum joint venture partners began studying options to increase production capacity from 500,000 barrels per day to 750,000 barrels per day.

“ExxonMobil and Inpex, alongside our other partners, have played an important role in the development of our oil and gas assets. This agreement is another milestone in our efforts to forge partnerships that bring technology, expertise and capital aimed at delivering greater economic value and levels of recovery from our resources,” said Dr Sultan Ahmad Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Adnoc group CEO.

Adnoc to push ‘Umm Lulu Crude Oil’

Adnoc will also launch ‘Umm Lulu Crude Oil’, a new crude blend produced from its Umm Lulu and Sarb fields, operated by Adnoc Offshore.

Umm Lulu Crude Oil is a light crude, rich in light middle distillates with a low sulphur and metal content. The first exports of the crude are anticipated in the first quarter of 2018, and production will increase gradually over the coming five-year period.

Umm Lulu Crude Oil joins the Adnoc crude family which includes the onshore grade Murban and offshore grades Das Crude and Upper Zakum.