Ametek Scores Major Analyzer Contract for Shah Gas Field

The $10 billion Shah Gas Development (SGD) Project from Abu Dhabi Gas Development Co. (Al Hosn Gas) is one of the largest greenfield gas development projects ever undertaken. Located about 130 miles southwest of Abu Dhabi, the sour gas reservoir is expected to process about 1 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of sour gas into 0.5 bcf/d of usable gas. Aside from the sheer size of the facility, the high technology used to process the gas will set new industry benchmarks, according to Al Hosn Gas.

Ametek Process Instruments has been awarded a contract to supply UV process gas analyzers for the sulfur recovery units (SRUs) and tail gas treating units (TGTUs) for the SGD project. When completed, the SRU-TGTU complex is expected to be the largest in the world.

Each of the SRU’s four processing trains is so large that it will require twin reaction furnaces with three tail gas analyzers per train, making the project the largest single order for tail gas analyzers ever. With additional associated analyzers, the SRU will have seven Ametek analyzers per train for a total of 28 analyzers.

The Shah Gas Field’s extensive gas reservoirs have not been developed previously because of the challenging operating conditions. The field’s sour gas contains an average of 23 percent hydrogen sulfide and 10 percent carbon dioxide. At those concentrations, the gas can corrode metals, it poses a hazard to plant safety, and it requires extensive processing.

The Ametek contract is valued at about $4.6 million, and includes installation of the following Western Research analyzers:

• 12 Model 900 air demand analyzers, developed to meet the requirements of the latest sulfur recovery processes. The unit measures up to five species simultaneously, including hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), sulfur dioxide (S₂O), carbonyl sulfide (COS), carbon disulfide (CS₂) and sulfur vapor (Sv).
• 12 Model 931 single-gas analyzers, which are rugged, single-component photometric gas analyzers housed in an explosion-proof package designed for a variety of gas monitoring and process control applications. It uses Ametek’s high-resolution UV technology in a dual-beam, dual-wavelength configuration that features no moving parts.
• Four Model 930 H₂S vapor space analyzers, developed to measure H₂S vapor in pits used to store liquid sulfur. The vapor poses a potential danger to plant operation and personnel and must be carefully monitored.