SYRIA - 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 gas 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 about 475 km to Homs by a 16-inch pipeline using compressors at the boundary of the Jibeissah plant.

The gas is used 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 CM/d for the Homs refinery. Some of the cement factories in the country have been converted to use gas from Jibeissah and other plants.