Located 150 kilometers north of Port Said, below choppy Mediterranean waters more than 1,000 meters deep, the Zohr Gas Field is one of the world’s largest. The field is big enough to guarantee Egypt’s energy independence for years, but it also represents a rich vein of high-value Egyptian jobs and manufacturing opportunities.
Producing this gas will require extensive, complex deepwater infrastructure, and the contract to develop these facilities has just been awarded to Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE). BHGE is a long-term partner to Egypt’s oil and gas sector and has supported the growth of the industry for decades.
The broad scope of work includes project management, engineering procurement, fabrication, construction, testing and transportation of a subsea production system that includes 10 e-EHXT trees, seven manifolds, tie-in systems, long offset subsea and topside control systems, SemStar5 HIPPS Systems, workover systems, and tools. It also includes support for installation, commissioning and start-up operations.
The specific requirements of the project draw on BHGE’s experience in large bore, long offset gas fields and incorporates an integrated HIPPS system. The contract award positions BHGE as a market leader in this field and demonstrates its commitment to providing advanced solutions for its partners.
The 10 e-EHXT trees were designed in collaboration with Eni as part of a standardization exercise, applying field-proven products and systems gained from previous projects with Eni across a range of successful deep-water projects in Africa.
BHGE will also provide wellheads via a separate contract awarded by Petrobel earlier this year.
The award underlines the global scope and breadth of BHGE’s fullstream portfolio – including the company’s Egypt-based capabilities in areas from personnel and engineering to manufacturing and partnerships.
Equipment will be manufactured in Alexandria, Egypt, thereby boosting employment opportunities and deepening the local supply chain, as well as at sites in the United Kingdom, Norway and Italy.
Local BHGE engineering teams will be supported by company experts in the UK, Italy and Norway, while project management services will be complemented in Egypt as well as from the UK.
Discovered in 2015, the Zohr Field is part of the Shorouk Concession and is being led by Petrobel, a joint venture between IEOC (an Eni subsidiary in Egypt) and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), on behalf of PetroShorouk, itself a joint venture between the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), IEOC and BP.
“Maximizing domestic energy resources and optimizing reliability of their supplies are core elements of Egypt’s vision,” said H.E. Eng. Tarek El-Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. “We are able to increase the value and efficiency of the sector by driving a sustainable and energy-efficient economy through the ministry’s Modernization Program in partnership with companies such as BHGE. The Zohr gas field is playing a major role in the development of Egypt’s domestic energy resources, revenue generation and economic growth.”
For more on GE’s contribution to Egypt’s national development across the fields of oil and gas, power, transportation, aviation and healthcare, click here. To learn more about BHGE’s work to support its partners in the energy sector across the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, follow this link.
