Sharjah Gas Processing & Exports.

The LPG plant of Sharjah LPG Co. (Shalco) is owned 60% by the local government, 25% by BP Amoco/Arco and 7.5% by each of Itochu and Tokyo Boeki of Japan. Located at Al Hamriyah on the coast, it fractionates the gas output of the Sajaa, Moveyeid and Kahaif fields and produces LPG. A plant at Sajaa processes the gas

Shalco has been expanded from 440 MCF/d in 1994 to 700 MCF/d of gas. Its output capacity has risen from 620,000 t/y in the first half of 1994 to 790,000 t/y. This breaks down as: 290,000 t/y of propane; 220,000 t/y of butane; and 280,000 t/y of NGL. Expansion of the Sajaa plant has enabled Amoco to process gas from the new Kahaif field which went on stream in the second half of 1994.

Expansion at the Al Hamriyah and Sajaa plants has included replacement of some of the fractionation columns, installation of a new turbo-expander and a new system to improve the recovery of liquids. The detailed design and engineering work for the Sajaa plant was done by Fluor Daniel. The main contractor was El Wimpey Civil Engineering. PetroFac International installed two sweetening trains at the plant.

The propane and butane are marketed by Itochu and the NGL by BP Amoco/Arco. NGL and condensate are pumped from Sajaa through a 32-km, 12-inch pipeline to Al Hamriyah, where Amoco has its own jetty capable of accommodating tankers with capacity of up to 83,000 dwt. The terminal includes two storage tanks with a combined capacity of 110,000 cu m. The bulk of the condensate is shipped to Japan, with small quantities exported to West Europe and North America. The condensate has a low sulfur content (0.01%) and a naphtha yield of just under 80%.

Although BP Amoco/Arco exports most of the natural gas it produces, it supplies some gas directly to Sharjah City through a 37-km gasline on which a number of offtake points have been installed. A second, 43-km, 30-inch pipeline was laid in the first quarter of 1996 from Sajaa to the Layyah power and water desalination plant, owned by the Sharjah Water & Electricity Dept. The second pipeline has the capacity to feed more than 1,000 MW of power generating capacity, including small plants on its route to Layyah. Sharjah's city gas grid will be completed in June 2000 and this will raise its gas requirements rapidly in the coming years (see DT 20).