Abu Dhabi’s offshore Umm Lulu field will exceed capacity of 100,000 barrels per day by 2020, as part of efforts to raise overall output to 5 million bpd by 2030.
Work is under way at the offshore field, which has Austria’s OMV and Spain's Cepsa as partners with the provision of a 32,000 metric tonne platform manufactured by UAE company NPCC to support gas compression.
The platform will also handle dehydration and sweetening of gas.
Current production from fields operated by state owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is at 3 million bpd capacity, with efforts underway to raise it to 4 million bpd by 2020.
"The completion of this key infrastructure asset marks another significant milestone for Adnoc as we drive oil production capacity towards 4 million bpd by end of 2020, delivering on our smart growth strategy and meeting increasing global demand for energy,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Adnoc group chief executive and UAE Minister of State.
The platform, which is nearly as tall as London's Big Ben is one of five such platforms manufactured by NPCC. The UAE company, which is part of Abu Dhabi industrial holding company Senaat, had earlier built eight platforms worth a collective investment of Dh9.18 billion to support the Umm Lulu field. The company also supported associated infrastructure including laying of 2,555 kilometres of cable and 150km of pipeline.
The platform, which was manufactured with steel supplied by Emirates Steel, also a Senaat company, will be installed at Umm Lulu using a float-over method.
"The ULGTP project is the largest to date undertaken by NPCC and was led by a team of passionate Emirati nationals committed to achieving the nation's vision to be one of the best countries in the world in exporting energy solutions," said NPCC chairman Mohamed Al Hameli.
The engineering feat was executed by NPCC in consortium with French contractor Technip at the company’s 1.3 million square metre industrial manufacturing yard. It is one of the largest in the Middle East and oversees consumption of around 100,000 metric tonnes of structural steel annually.
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HAEMOGLOBIN DISORDERS EXPLAINED
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
