PDO’S Yibal Khuff mega project comes on stream

LANDMARK VENTURE: Spanning an area of 1.68km2, YKP is the second largest, and most technically complex project in PDO’S history

Petroleum Development Oman’s (PDO) Yibal Khuff Project (YKP) has started production, marking a key milestone for the landmark facility.

The installation’s first sour wells were opened earlier this month introducing sour oil to the YKP Central Processing Facility, and the project has already started exporting crude oil to the Main Oil Line.

The plant’s capacity will be ramped up over the coming months.

Spanning an area of 1.68km2, YKP is the second largest, and most technically complex project in PDO’S history — with Covid-19 adding another layer of complexity over the past two years of construction and commissioning activities.

YKP is of a high strategic value towards meeting Oman’s growing medium and long-term oil and gas demands, as well as reducing PDO’S net non-associated gas import.

The mega project will be delivering — when fully operational — five million cubic metres of gas per day and around 20,000 bpd of crude.

PDO Managing Director Steve Phimister said: “The YKP coming on stream is a source of great pride for PDO. Despite the challenging environment and scale of this project, the project team were able to stay the course and deliver the project with an amazing HSE record, exceeding 46 million Lost Time Injury-free manhours.

Both Company and contractor staff have shown outstanding dedication and commitment to overcome many hurdles to reach this stage of the project.”

Around 1,200 Omanis have been employed on site in the construction of the facilities, with a further 200 nationals deployed as fully qualified welders. Around $400 million were also awarded to Omani companies for the provision of goods and services.

This project has achieved several significant firsts, including the first to deliver the tallest column ever fabricated for PDO in Oman. This ‘Made in Oman’ acid gas recovery unit absorber stands at 48 metres high, four metres in diameter and weighs 291 tonnes.

It has also delivered one of PDO’S first Steam Turbine Generators, taking the heat from some of the facilities’ processes and using it to generate steam. The plant will be able to generate 13MW of electrical power, supplementing the 45MW of the Yibal Khuff Power plant.

YKP Project Manager Munir al Hammadi said: “In addition to safety, the project team maintained quality as another main driver throughout the execution of the project, ensuring an elaborate Quality Assurance and Control scheme was in place resulting in a world-class quality delivery of the project.

The project is also considered the first to allocate a scope for SMES whilst ensuring the full development of the deployed 200 Omani welders including their redeployment to other projects. It is worth highlighting that this team of Omani welders have managed to successfully complete the highest diameter welds in the project.

“We are very proud of this milestone and thank the all the teams as well as individuals who stood up to the challenges to achieve this major milestone.”