ADNOC Targets 70% Increase in Bu Hasa Output With New Enhanced Recovery Project

Key Facts

ADNOC Onshore has invited contractors to bid for the first phase of the enhanced oil recovery unit project at Bu Hasa–Shuaiba, targeting a 70% increase in oil production at the Bu Hasa field and an extension of its production plateau. The project also aims to achieve an ultimate recovery factor of 70% from the Shuaiba reservoir, MEED reported on 4 November. The two figures represent different targets: the first concerns increased production, while the second is the share of oil targeted for recovery from the reservoir over its lifetime. The project focuses on boosting what can be extracted from an existing field, with both percentages remaining project targets rather than increases already achieved. A reliable estimate of the project’s cost could not be verified.

ADNOC Onshore issued the tender on 20 September and initially set 8 October as the deadline for technical bids, before extending it to 17 October, according to MEED sources. The timeline shows that the tender process began before the news was published in November, while the technical-bid period had ended by the extended deadline. The tender is for Unit 1, or the first phase, of the Bu Hasa–Shuaiba enhanced recovery project. It concerns the selection of contractors to carry out the project’s specified work scopes. The published information did not give a date for awarding the contract or starting work.

The contracting structure divides the work between a lump-sum, turnkey engineering, procurement and construction scope and another scope to be executed on demand. The first covers the complete piping system extending from the East Hub center to the separation station. The second includes tie-in work for WAG and WSW injection wells. This means the piping work is defined under an integrated contract, while injection-well tie-ins are linked to work orders. The division serves different project components, from fluid transport to well connections, without in itself determining the final recovery technology.

The project’s objectives include validating the most suitable enhanced recovery technology for priority reservoirs and units, and measuring incremental recovery above what the IOR project achieves. After evaluating the options, ADNOC aims to select a proven technology and implement it in phases. The tender therefore does not mean that a final technology choice has already been made. MEED reported that previous studies identified carbon dioxide injection as a promising tertiary recovery mechanism in the Shuaiba reservoir. That option remains within the scope of what earlier studies indicated, while the project focuses on validating the optimal technology.

Bu Hasa is a major producing asset in ADNOC Onshore’s portfolio, with published oil production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, and is located 200 kilometers south of Abu Dhabi city, according to MEED. The field was discovered in 1962 and began production in May 1965, making it one of the oldest fields in the ADNOC group. This history provides context for the project’s goal of extending the field’s production plateau. MEED also reported that the ongoing integrated Bu Hasa development project added 13 wellhead platforms and two platform gathering centers. Operating facilities include three remote gas-de-oiling stations and two associated stations at Bida Al Qemzan and Huwaylah.

Development work at Bu Hasa is part of a broader expansion path ADNOC announced in 2021. That year, the company said a contract covered the installation of up to 260 conventional and unconventional smart wells to enable remote operations, building on the field development contract awarded in 2018. ADNOC then linked the Bu Hasa project to its goal of raising oil production capacity to 5 million barrels per day by 2030. In March 2021, the company said Bu Hasa’s production capacity had reached 650,000 barrels per day, compared with 630,000 barrels per day for the South-East Fields group. These figures place the current project in the context of the field’s development, while differing in date and scope from the targets of the new first phase.