ADNOC, ConocoPhillips deal for Shah gas

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, July 9 (UPI) -- ConocoPhillips and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. signed deals Thursday for development of the Shah gas field in the United Arab Emirates.

The joint project at the onshore Shah gas field will supply regional customers with around 540 million cubic feet of gas per day. ADNOC will take a 60 percent stake in a joint venture managing developments at the Shah gas field with U.S.-based ConocoPhillips.

The field, first discovered in 1966, is located about 112 miles southwest of the city of Abu Dhabi. The emirate of Abu Dhabi holds an estimated 200 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, mostly in the form of sour gas.

The project includes through the joint venture the construction of processing trains and gas gathering systems to produce a total of 1 billion cubic feet per day, the Emirates News Agency reports.

ADNOC says the project is scheduled to begin as early as 2014, as the project faced a series of setbacks due to cash shortages in the current economic climate and stalled negotiations between the two energy giants.