How a Major Gas Compression Station Cut Construction Costs, Risks, and Time to Maximize Investment Returns

This paper explains how advanced digitalization concepts were employed in the development and construction of the Taweelah Gas Compression Plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The plant began operation in late 2018 and is one of the largest and most modern compression facilities in the world. It is owned and operated by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and comprises three compression trains, each with a processing capacity of 225 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd). Two operate at any one time, with the third on standby, giving the plant 450 mmscfd of total production throughput. Using the Taweelah Gas Compression Plant as an example, the paper describes how onshore oil and gas compression stations can be built efficiently and economically by leveraging advanced digital technologies, such as Digital Twins. Other concepts/strategies that the paper will discuss which can help accelerate project schedules and reduce costs include: Sophisticated hydraulic modeling software; Large power blocks to reduce the number of compression trains; Sole-source provisioning of compression drive trains; ‘Plug and play’ equipment packages that required minimal onsite commissioning; Remote diagnostics and analytics for condition monitoring and condition-based maintenance to ensure maximum uptime and availability; Using the combination of the above concepts, along with extensive collaboration/co-creation between Siemens Energy and ADNOC, the Taweelah plant was able to achieve first gas just 16 months after front-end engineering design (FEED).