Al Hosn Gas, which is developing one of Abu Dhabi's most challenging gasfields, wants to bring its expertise to other sour-gas developments.
The company, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Occidental Petroleum operating the Shah gasfield, could deploy its expertise in handling toxic sulphur as the emirate opens up similar fields, said Saif Al Ghafli, the chief executive. Adnoc opened tenders for the Bab and offshore Hail gasfields earlier this year.
"As more gas projects come on stream in the future, Al Hosn Gas will be uniquely positioned in the future to use our expertise," said Mr Al Ghafli. "It all depends on who will be the partners in it."
Shah, a US$10bn (Dh36.73bn) project in the Empty Quarter, requires Occidental and Adnoc to build plants to strip poisonous hydrogen sulphide from 1 billion cubic feet of raw gas, then turn the sulphur into pellets to be transported by the nation's first railway to a seaside port.
The sulphur could then be marketed for use in fertiliser or concrete, while the emirate would benefit from 500 million cubic feet of clean gas.
Today 60 per cent of the installations are complete - hulking masses of steel and concrete in the midst of rolling red sand dunes.
Twenty wells - a fifth of the total - have been completed and the three rigs that will be needed through 2014 are already in place, said Mr Al Ghafli. Should Adnoc, which holds a 60 per cent stake in Al Hosn Gas, decide to do so, production could be expanded with additional wells, he added.
Occidental, a partner with Abu Dhabi on other strategic projects, including a natural gas pipeline to Fujairah, expects to spend $600 million this year on Shah, part of an overall increase in company-wide spending outlined in its last earnings report.
The company was also on track in building up its local workforce from 30 per cent Emirati today to 75 per cent in five years' time.
There have been no serious accidents, added Mr Al Ghafli.
ayee@thenational.ae
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Ticket prices
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Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Specs – Taycan 4S
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