Aramco mulls Zuluf oilfield expansion

KHOBAR / Reuters

State oil firm Saudi Aramco is considering building new facilities to
add production of Arabian Heavy crude from the Zuluf offshore oilfield, industry sources said.
The central processing plant is expected to have two units, known as trains, with a total capacity of 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) to process
Arabian Heavy crude supplied by
electrical submersible pumps (ESP).
“ESPs are required in this Zuluf increment because the Arabian Heavy reserves have a lower reservoir pressure than the Arabian Medium reserves,” said Sadad Al Husseini, a former executive vice president at Saudi Aramco.
He said the artificial lift and pressure maintenance would achieve optimum production rates and economics, while also ensuring effective reservoir management.
Zuluf was one of the largest offshore oilfields in the world and held extensive proven Arabian Medium and Arabian Heavy reserves, said Husseini, who is now an energy analyst.
The gas and condensate will be sent to the new Tanajib gas plant, which is part of the new Marjan programme.
Saudi Aramco is expected to invite companies to bid for front-end engineering and design later this month with an award seen in September.