SYRIA - Gas Processing Plants & Their Markets.

Syria's capacity for marketed production of associated and non-associated natural gas has reached 26 MCM/day, up from less than 22 MCM/d in the first quarter of 2002, and should rise to more than 35 MCM/day by 2007. This excludes gas reinjected into the oilfields. All of the marketed production is being processed for local consumption, which has increased from about 11 MCM/day in early 1998 as local demand for natural gas is quite strong.

The operational capacity of Syria's gas processing plants and pipelines exceeds marketed production and consumption of this clean source of fuel. The following are brief profiles of the gas processing plants in Syria and their local markets:

The Deir Ez Zor gas plant, on stream since September 2001, is the largest in Syria with a capacity of 13 MCM/d. It processes almost 5 MCM/d of associated gas from a 180-km gathering system linking 22 oilfields in the north-east (see Gas Market Trends) to feed the Syrian market, plus 8 MCM/d from Total's Tabiyeh gas field before its reinjection into the field's reservoir. The plant produces LPG for the local market and 19,000 b/d of condensate for crude oil blending and export through the Banias terminal.

The plant, the gathering system and related facilities are operated by ConocoPhillips, under a service contract between SPC and a Conoco/Total partnership. All these facilities should be run by SPC from September 2005, but ConocoPhillips may leave Syria before (see Gas Market Trends).

The Palmyra Plant: The second largest in the country, the treatment and processing plant in Palmyra region has a design capacity of 7.5 MCM/d of raw gas. Its expansion to this capacity was completed in late 1999 as part of the second phase in the development of five non-associated gas fields in the area.

The fields are: Arak, Hail and Dubayat, which contain sweet gas and were put on stream through 1996 for the plant's first phase; and Najib and Sokhne which have sour gas and came on stream in early 2000 (see profiles of Syria's gas fields in Gas Market Trends).

The plant's first phase, consisting of units to process both sweet and sour gases, came on stream in late 1996 with total capacity of 4.5 MCM/d However, it could only operate at the rate of about 3 MCM/d, which was the capacity of Arak, Hail and Dubayat fields. Clean gas from the plant has since supplied the Zaizoun power station in central Syria near Idlib, which has a capacity of 384 MW, through a 120-km pipeline.

Phase-II plant, adjacent to Phase-1, has units which were completed in late 1999 and came on stream in early 2000. The plant is processing the gas from the Najib and Sokhne fields. Its capacity is 3 MCM/d. A 150-km pipeline has been built to carry clean gas the Aleppo power station whose first three 200 MW units started up in early 2000. The station's other two 200 MW units were completed in 2002/03, when a 250-km pipeline from the plant was expanded.

The five Palmyra fields are linked to two major pipelines completed in early 2002: the one carrying gas to the power station in Aleppo, and the other to a line with a larger pipe carrying gas from the Omar field and processing facilities to the 400 MW Tishreen power station just south of Damascus. The latter pipeline came on stream in August 1992. Now the line also reaches the 630 MW Mhardeh power plant (on the Mediterranean coast north-west of Hama) and the 680 MW Banias power station, refinery and terminal centre. Through these new pipelines, the fields have helped increase gas supplies to the power sector and industries. They will enable the power plants to be expanded further in the coming years.

The Omar Associated Gas Treatment/Processing Plant: On stream since 1991, this system treats and processes associated gases gathered from the oil fields of Omar, North Omar, Shahel, Al Izba and Tanak through a 77-km long gathering network. The plant now has a design capacity of 6.53 MCM/d (about 2.38 BCM/year) of raw gas. Its expansion from 4.29 MCM/d was completed in 2000, with the work done by PetroFac Int'l under a $100m fast-track project. The fields supplying the plant are for the Al Furat (AFPC) and Al Badiya (BOC) JVs operated by Shell.

The plant's current output consists of the following: almost 5.9 MCM/d of treated dry gas (up from 4 MCM/d in 1999); 600 tons/day of LPG (up from 410 t/d); and 7,000 b/d of condensates (up from 4,800 b/d). The treated gas is pumped to the Damascus region through an 18-inch, 440-km pipeline to the 400 MW Tishreen power plant. Secondary lines supply the gas-turbine power station at Thayyem, the Adra cement plant, and a crude oil pressure station.

The Omar fields and plant have five 40 MW gas turbines supplying power to the area and the nearby fields.

Al Thayyem Turbines: Four gas turbines have been installed in AFPC's Al Thayyem oilfield near Deir Ez Zor town. The first started up at the end of February 1990 and the other two followed at two-month intervals. The installed capacity of each turbine is 30 MW. Their annual requirements are estimated at about 233 MCM. The fourth power plant at Al Thayyem field was completed in late 2001.

The Tishreen steam-powered station, just south of Damascus, was built in the late 1980s by the Soviets and started up in 1991. It has two 200 MW units, with a yield ratio of 34-37%. It is designed to operate on gas or fuel oil. Consumption of fuel oil has fallen to a negligible volume, from 2,356 kcal/kilowatt-hour. The plant is being converted and expanded to a 250 MW combined cycle unit. Additional gas to the power station is to come from the Omar and Palmyra processing plants.

Mhardeh: Clean gas from the Omar plant is transported to the 630 MW power station of Mhardeh. This is done through a 220 km, 18 inch, spur line to the main national gas grid. The link is at a junction in the Palmyra area.

LPG from the Omar plant is transferred by tanker trucks to cylinder filling stations for distribution to households throughout the country. The condensates produced at the Omar plant are blended with the crude oils of AFPC and BOS to lighten their export mix.

The treatment and processing plant at Omar was built by Brown & Root of the US, which did the engineering work as well. The US contractor also built the gas gathering network. The Syrian Military Housing Establishment (Milihouse) built the 440 km pipeline to the Tishreen power plant. PetroFac Int'l of the UK built a gathering at the Al Izba field for recovery of 80 MCF/d of associated gas and transmission facilities to the Omar plant, which were completed in early 2000.

A pipeline is to be built to link the Omar-Tishreen line and two gas fields to be developed in the Palmyra region, Ash Shaer and Cherrife. The two fields were discovered by Marathon of the US, which has left the country (see Gas Market Trends). These fields, to be developed by SPC, could eventually produce more than 5 MCM/d. They will also be linked to the Banias and Mahrada power stations.

Jibeissah Gas Treatment/Processing Plant: The fourth largest gas plant and the second to be built in Syria, the Jibeissah facility in the north-east of the country was expanded in late 1999 to 3.2 MCM/d of raw gas. The mechanical work for this was done by Industrial Export of Romania. The plant treats and processes associated gas from the Jibeissah oilfield, and non-associated from the fields of Al Hol, Al Ghona, Marqada, Tel Audeh, Qahtaniyah and Leylak. All these fields are operated by SPC.

The plant's first phase, with a capacity of 1.5 MCM/d, came on stream at the beginning of 1988. The Jibeissah, Al Hol, Al Ghona and Marqada fields started up in 1987-88. Together, they now produce 875 MCM/year. The plant was modified and expanded to 1.7 MCM/day in a second phase to handle non-associated gas from Tel Audeh, Qahtaniyah and Leylak. The fields were put on stream in 1997. The facility was expanded to 3 MCM/d in 1998 as the latter fields' output rose to a combined rate of 1.3 MCM/d. A further 200,000 CM/d expansion was done in 1999 as production from most of the fields increased.

The plant is now producing as follows: 3 MCM/d of clean gas (compared to about 2.8 MCM/d in 1998), of which 400,000 m3/d are consumed by the plant; 75 tons/day of condensates (compared to 40 tons/day before the expansions in the 1990s); 90 tons/day of sulphur (up from 50 tons/day in 1988); and nearly 125 tons/day of LPG (up from about 70 tons/day in 1988). The plant also has a gas turbine for electricity generation with an installed capacity of 11 MW. Clean gas from the plant is transported 475 km to Homs by a 16-inch pipeline using compressors at the boundary of the Jibeissah plant. The gas is utilised in place of naphtha as a feedstock for producing ammonia/urea at a nitrogenous fertiliser plant in Homs. Clean gas is also being supplied to a 600 MW power station and a steel complex at Zara, near Homs. Some of the gas is used as fuel by the Homs oil refinery.

The average rate of clean gas consumption in recent years has been around 1.3 MCM/d for the nitrogen fertiliser plant and 200,000 m3/d for the Homs refinery. Some of the cement factories in the country have been converted to use gas from Jibeissah and other plants.

Suwaidiyah Associated Gas Treatment/Processing Plant: The first gas plant to be built in Syria, Suwaidiyah's facility first came on stream in late 1973 to treat associated gas. A bigger, modern processing plant was built later and came on stream at the beginning of 1985. This treats and processes associated gas from the Karatchok, Suwaidiyah and Rumailan oilfields.

The plant's design capacity is 660,000 m3/d of raw gas. It produces 560,000 CM/d of dry gas. About 520,000 m3/d are transported by pipeline to two nearby power plant stations, and 40,000 m3/d are consumed locally. It also produces 132 t/d of LPG, transported by tanker trucks to local consumers; 70 t/d of condensate injected into the oilfields with crude oil; and 20 t/d of sulphur.

Suwaidiyah Power Station I is small, with three turbines using associated gas from the Suwaidiyah field installed by end-1973: two Hitachi turbines with 18.75 MW design capacity, at 27 deg.C, and a 24% yield ratio; and one AOG turbine with 19.5 MW design capacity, at 27 deg.C, and a 28% yield ratio. Three other AOG turbines were installed at the station in 1984. Now the station functions with five operational turbines and one reserve. Electricity from these turbines was used to power the Hasaka region until 1979, when they were linked to the national grid owing to their production of surplus electricity. These turbines use treated associated gas from Suwaidiyah and free gas produced at the Triassic wells in Suwaidiyah.

Annual consumption there amounts to 182 MCM from the treatment plant and 26 MCM of untreated Triassic gas. This covers the annual operations of the turbines, at 66% of installed capacity or 115.5 MW. Electricity produced through 1978, including the power consumed in meeting the requirements of oilfields in the Hasaka area amounted to 308,600 megawatt-hours. Total electricity produced from 1979 until mid-1989 to meet the Hasaka fields' requirements, with surpluses directed to the national grid, amounted to 2,817.45m megawatt-hours. The quantity of gas consumed by the Suwaidiyah I station during 1988 amounted to 144.5 MCM, producing 461,135 megawatt-hours of power, of which 266,381 megawatt-hours went to the national grid.

Suwaidiyah Station II: In an effort to utilise more gas and less oil for electricity, five new turbines were installed in the Suwaidiyah fields. They began operating in 1989, with a total capacity of 150 MW and a 31% yield ratio. Their annual rate of gas consumption is about 423 MCM, at a load factor of 100%.

The gas used comes from the Audeh fields and the Triassic wells in Suwaidiyah. The power plant was built by Itochu of Japan and additional gas in the subsequent years was supplied by pipeline from the Tel Audeh, Qahtaniyah and Leylak fields.

Jafra Gas Separation Plant: Inaugurated in late 1996, this plant is located in the Jafra oil production centre of Deir Ez Zor Petroleum Company (DEZPC), a 50-50 JV between SPC and TotalFinaElf. It has the capacity to treat 80,000 CM/d of associated gas and extract small quantities of LPG and condensates.

The plant processes some of the associated gases produced by DEZPC's Jafra and Attala North oilfields.