Sharjah National Oil Corporation (SNOC) announced on Monday the completion of the second phase of its underground gas storage project in the Moveyeid field in the emirate of Sharjah.

The project started in 2017 with a small-scale pilot phase followed by expansion into phase two with larger gas volumes in January 2021.

SNOC CEO Hatem Al Mosa said post-completion, the government-owned company will enter a new area of business by storing excess gas in the winter to satisfy the UAE’s summer peak electricity demand as well as provide a readily available strategic reserve for energy security.

"The next phase of this project could potentially increase capacity up to four times its current level and has the ability to serve the whole of the UAE, and not only Sharjah,” he said.

The project's storage capacity wasn't disclosed in the statement but SNOC said it will help balance the gas supply and demand for Sharjah and meet the required supply flexibility for the emirate's power sector.

The second phase concluded with the successful execution of Underbalanced Coil Tubing Drilling (UBCTD) well simulations, a technique in which horizontal legs are drilled in existing wells thereby enhancing the accessibility of the reservoir, the statement said. It said the newly designed surface and subsurface infrastructures are optimised for enhanced efficiency and built with the capacity to support future expansion.

SNOC is the oil and gas industry executive arm of Sharjah emirate under the Petroleum Department of Sharjah.

(Writing by Anoop Menon; Editing by SA Kader)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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