ADNOC Announces $548Mln Contract for New Main Gas Line

A picture shows the headquarters of UAE's state oil company ADNOC in Dubai on July 27, 2022. (AFP)
A picture shows the headquarters of UAE's state oil company ADNOC in Dubai on July 27, 2022. (AFP)
TT
20

ADNOC Announces $548Mln Contract for New Main Gas Line

A picture shows the headquarters of UAE's state oil company ADNOC in Dubai on July 27, 2022. (AFP)
A picture shows the headquarters of UAE's state oil company ADNOC in Dubai on July 27, 2022. (AFP)

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announced Monday awarding a AED2.01 billion ($548 million) contract to build a new main gas line at its Lower Zakum field offshore of Abu Dhabi.

The award will increase Lower Zakum field’s gas production capacity from 430 million to 700 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD), supporting ADNOC’s plans to enable gas self-sufficiency for the United Arab Emirates and cater for increasing global energy demand.

The new pipeline will cater for the increased volume of associated gas produced by Lower Zakum field as the field’s oil production capacity increases to 450,000 barrels of oil per day by 2025.

ADNOC Upstream Executive Director Yaser Saeed al-Mazrouei, said: “This contract award will enable us to produce more gas as we increase production capacity from Lower Zakum field.”

It will support ADNOC’s integrated gas masterplan, which is driving competitive gas recovery to enable gas self-sufficiency for the UAE and industrial growth, while also helping to meet the increasing global demand for energy.

The project will be completed in 2025 and will see the construction of a new subsea pipeline that will run 85 kilometers from Zakum West Super Complex to Das Island.

It also includes provisions to construct, install and test a new platform at the super complex, as well as a new gas receiving facility at Das Island.

Natural gas is playing an increasingly important role in the energy transition as both a feedstock and a fuel as it burns with significantly lower-carbon intensity than coal.

With this award, ADNOC Offshore and its strategic international partners have invested more than $5 billion in recent weeks in the long-term development of Abu Dhabi's offshore operations.

The awards included contracts worth more than $3.4 billion awarded to ADNOC Drilling to accelerate offshore growth activities and a $1.1 billion contract awarded to ADNOC Logistics and Services to enhance offshore operations.



World Bank: Earthquake Worsens Myanmar's Economic Decline

This photo taken on May 8, 2025 shows a worker walking past sacks of rice in a warehouse on the outskirts of Zalun township in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
This photo taken on May 8, 2025 shows a worker walking past sacks of rice in a warehouse on the outskirts of Zalun township in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
TT
20

World Bank: Earthquake Worsens Myanmar's Economic Decline

This photo taken on May 8, 2025 shows a worker walking past sacks of rice in a warehouse on the outskirts of Zalun township in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
This photo taken on May 8, 2025 shows a worker walking past sacks of rice in a warehouse on the outskirts of Zalun township in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)

Myanmar's beleaguered economy is expected to contract by 2.5 percent in the 2025/26 fiscal year largely due to the devastating impact of a powerful earthquake in late March, the World Bank said in a report on Thursday.

The World Bank said direct damages to property and infrastructure from the 7.7 magnitude quake were estimated at $11 billion, or 14% of the nation's gross domestic product, estimating that economic output would be about $2 billion lower than it otherwise would have been because of the quake.

The quake affected more than 17 million people, with nine million severely impacted, the World Bank said. The death toll has topped 3,700, according to Myanmar's ruling junta.

"The earthquake caused significant loss of life and displacement, while exacerbating already difficult economic conditions, further testing the resilience of Myanmar's people," Melinda Good, Division Director for Thailand and Myanmar, said a statement.
"Recovery efforts are essential to help the most vulnerable populations."

A junta spokesman did not respond to a call from Reuters seeking comment on the report.

In December, the World Bank had projected Myanmar's economy would shrink 1% in the 2024/25 fiscal year that ended in March due to the severe flooding in the country.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power in a coup in February 2021, sparking a civil war. There have been international efforts to stall the conflict, but rebels have accused the junta of breaching a ceasefire called to allow relief efforts to reach earthquake-affected areas.

The hardest-hit regions of Mandalay and Naypyidaw were expected to lose up to one-third of their production between April and September before a partial recovery in the second half of the fiscal year, the World Bank said.

The earthquake could increase the national poverty rate by 2.8 percentage points, pushing more households into poverty, the report stated. A survey before the quake estimated the poverty rate at 31% in 2024.

"Myanmar's compounding crises have put household coping mechanisms under severe stress," said Kim Edwards, Senior Economist and Program Leader for Thailand and Myanmar.