Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) held a launching ceremony for the last offshore oil production platform of the Umm Shaif Project.

The platform is part of $1.6 billion order from Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Co. (ADMA-OPCO), the subsidiary of the state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) of United Arab Emirates (UAE). HHI received the order to build three fixed platforms with total weight of 40,000 metric tons and subsea pipelines for the Umm Shaif project in 2007.

The platform weighs 7,041 metric tons and measures 40m in width, 36m in length and 32m in height. HHI delivered two other fixed platforms to Umm Shaif oil field in April and June respectively.

The offshore oil production facilities will be completed installation and commissioning by June 2010 and produce 300,000 barrels of oil and 1 billion ft3 of natural gas a day. It can accommodate up to 100 people. The produced gas will be supplied to Das Island, 31.91km away from Umm Shaif oil field via subsea pipeline.

“HHI has the credit of high technology as it successfully performed the biggest offshore project when we won the order” said an HHI spokesperson. “It is meaningful that we have established a bridgehead for future large projects in the Middle East" he adds.

The Umm Shaif project is not only the largest offshore oil production facility but also the first time the UAE has awarded the whole project to a foreign company. HHI is carrying out all phases of the project on a turnkey basis, ranging from engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning work.

At the ceremony, Mr. Oh Byung-wook, senior executive vice president & COO of the Offshore & Engineering Division, Mr. Ali R. Al Jarwan, president of ADMA-OPCO, and 70 other people celebrated the successful launch.