KGOC begins onshore gas processing project for Dorra Field output

The Kuwait Gulf Oil Company (KGOC), a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, has initiated a project to construct an onshore gas processing plant. The facility will process gas extracted from the Dorra offshore field, located in the neutral zone between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, according to MEED magazine.

KGOC has begun early engagement with contractors in preparation for issuing the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) tender. The plant will be built in Kuwait.

French firm Technip Energies is handling the front-end engineering and design (FEED) and is expected to complete it by the end of 2025. KGOC is likely to issue the EPC tender in September, depending on the progress.

The plant will receive gas via a pipeline from the Dorra field, a separate development led by Khafji Joint Operations (KJO)—a partnership between KGOC and Aramco Gulf Operations Company (AGOC), a Saudi Aramco subsidiary.

The plant will be located near the Al-Zour refinery operated by the Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC). Authorities have allocated a 700,000-square-meter plot for the facility. Site surveys are underway and may require land grading, filling, and dewatering.

The facility will have the capacity to process up to 632 million cubic feet of gas per day and 88,900 barrels per day of condensates.

KGOC is finalizing licensed technology agreements with Honeywell UOP (USA) for the acid gas removal unit and Shell Catalysts & Technologies (UK), a Shell subsidiary, for the sulfur recovery unit.

The surplus gas is expected to be supplied to Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) for use in oil well injection to enhance production.

The Dorra field is estimated to hold 20 trillion cubic feet of gas and 310 million barrels of oil. In 2023, MEED reported that Aramco and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation appointed Technip Energies to redesign the field’s infrastructure after older plans became outdated.

Khafji Joint Operations has divided the Dorra development into four EPC packages:

• Package 1: Seven platform installations and internal pipelines – bids submitted June 2
• Package 2A: Surface production units and corrosion-resistant piping – deadline July 31
• Package 2B: Gas compression platforms, accommodation, and main transmission pipelines – deadline July 31
• Package 3: Onshore gas processing plant – deadline July 31

Bidders for the offshore work reportedly include Lamprell (Saudi/UAE), Larsen & Toubro (India), McDermott (USA), NMDC (UAE), and Saipem (Italy).