Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Petroleum Operations Ltd (Adco) has awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for developing the Mender oil field to China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation (CPECC). As per the $300 million agreement, they will be responsible for the construction of oil gathering stations, pipelines, power transmission lines and sewage systems. Upon completion in late 2019, the field is expected to increase the production from 1.4 million barrels to 1.8 million.

The project is part of the national oil company’s strategy to increase its onshore crude production capacity by eight per cent or 143,000 barrels per day (bpd). Along with the Mender oil field, Adco will also develop phase two of the Sahil field and Qusahwira field respectively.

Plans for increasing the onshore crude production had begun in October 2013, when Adco activated the South East Full Field development project related to the three crude oil fields. An investment of $1 billion was proclaimed for the development of the South East Full Field, which represents 30 per cent of Adco’s production.

The $300 million Mender field, which borders Saudi Arabia and Oman at the southern tip of the Emirate, has never been developed. Worley Parsons had completed the front end engineering and design (Feed) study in August 2014, under the supervision of the project management consultancy (PMC) contractor CH2M Hill. After the Feed study, it was declared that the Mender field will produce 20,000 bpd of crude oil.