Saudi Arabia's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi recently toured the Qatif and Abu Sa'fah oilfield development projects and was informed the projects remain on track for completion in October 2004, according to an Aramco press release.
Al-Naimi commended Saudi Aramco for its achievements in Saudization in connection with the projects. He also urged exploitation of the latest technologies to avoid premature obsolescence. The overall development program is 100 percent staffed by Saudis in all out-of-Kingdom offices, the minister was told.
Development of the field, which will produce 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) of an Arabian Light crude blend from three reservoirs and 300,000 bpd of Arabian Medium, is part of the company's Maximum Sustained Capacity (MSC) Program. The project will also produce 370 million standard cubic feet of gas a day.
The program contains eight main construction sites, including the Qatif Central Producing Facility, QGOSP-2, Qatif Maintain Potential, Qatif Downstream Pipelines, Qatif Industrial Support Facilities (QISF), Abu Safah Offshore Facilities, Berri Gas Plant Facilities, and the Qatif and Abu Sa'fah Communications Facilities. The project has 20 major construction contracts, and activity is expected to peak in July with 11,500 workers. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
