The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Offshore has awarded a $500 million contract to Target Engineering Construction Company for the second phase of its Upper Zakum offshore field expansion. The project, known as UZ 1.2MMBD EPC-2, is designed to boost oil production at Upper Zakum to 1.2 million barrels per day (mbbl/d).
Located 84 kilometers offshore from Abu Dhabi, Upper Zakum is the world’s second-largest offshore oilfield. The field’s infrastructure is supported by four artificial islands: Al-Ghallan, Umm Al-Anbar, Ettouk, and Asseifiya, which are known as Central, West, North, and South Islands, respectively.
Scope of EPC Phase Two
The second phase of the project includes engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) works on Asseifiya Island. Key elements of this phase include the installation of an integrated gas lift compressor, a gas dehydration unit, a vapor recovery system, and a seawater filtration package. ADNOC Offshore completed the front-end engineering and design (FEED) for this phase internally, with the main EPC tender being issued in June 2024.
This phase follows the successful delivery of the first phase, UZ 1.2MMBD EPC-1, awarded earlier this year at an estimated $825 million. For this phase, FEED work was carried out by Spain’s Técnicas Reunidas in 2019, with Wood Group serving as the project management consultant.
Strategic Partnerships and Milestones
ADNOC is working alongside Japan Oil Development Company and ExxonMobil as part of a $30 billion capital expenditure program for the Upper Zakum hydrocarbon concession. The project builds on ADNOC Drilling’s achievement of drilling the world’s longest oil and gas well, reaching 50,000 feet in October 2022.
Additionally, ADNOC Drilling secured a $733 million contract in July to supply three newbuild island rigs, further supporting the ongoing expansion at Upper Zakum.
This strategic contract award is part of ADNOC’s broader efforts to enhance its production capacity and solidify its leadership within the global energy industry.