Karan

Location and Geology

The Karan Gas Field is situated approximately 160 km (99.4 miles) north of Dhahran, the headquarters of Saudi Aramco. The field is located in water depths ranging from 40 to 60 meters (131 to 197 feet).

The gas reservoirs are found in the Khuff formations of the Permian and Triassic ages. These formations have a gross thickness of up to 1,000 feet (305 meters) and are located at depths between 10,500 and 13,700 feet (3,200 to 4,176 meters).

Discovery and Production

The Karan Gas Field was discovered in April 2006 by the well named Karan-6. Gas production began in July 2011, marking the completion of the first phase of field development.

The field is designed to produce 1.8 billion cubic feet of non-associated gas per day (bcf/d) at full capacity. Initially, the target production was 1 bcf/d, which was later increased to 1.5 bcf/d and finally to 1.8 bcf/d to meet rising in-country demand for natural gas.

Field Development Phases

The development of the Karan field is being carried out in phases. The first phase, which started in July 2011, includes one wellhead platform and five production wells, each with a capacity of 120 million cubic feet a day of gas (mcf/d).

Further development involves drilling 14 additional wells over three offshore wellhead platforms, targeted for completion by June 2012 to increase production to 1.5 bcf/d. The remaining two wells and one platform were planned to be completed by April 2013 to achieve the full production capacity of 1.8 bcf/d.

Infrastructure

The offshore infrastructure includes five wellhead platform complexes tied into a main platform. This setup includes facilities for gas, chemical injection, and controls, as well as associated electrical power, communication, and remote monitoring and control systems.

The onshore infrastructure includes facilities for cogeneration, sulphur recovery, substations, and a pipeline for the transportation of gas. A 110 km (68.3 miles) subsea pipeline transports the gas produced at Karan to the onshore Khursaniyah Gas Plant. An additional 47 km (29.2 miles) onshore transmission pipeline transfers the gas to the Kingdom’s Master Gas System (MGS).

Processing Systems

The gas produced from Karan is processed at the Khursaniyah processing plant, located 50 km (31 miles) northwest of Jubail in Saudi Arabia. The plant’s existing capacity was not sufficient to process the 1.8 bcf/d of sour gas, so Saudi Aramco expanded the processing capacity as part of the Karan gas development program. Three processing trains, each with a capacity of 600 mcf/d of gas, are used to process the sour gas from Karan.

Contracts and Contractors

Saudi Aramco awarded several contracts for the development of the Karan field. The offshore development contract was awarded to J. Ray McDermott (JRM), a subsidiary of McDermott International, which included manufacturing and installing four wellhead platforms, a bridge-connected auxiliary platform, flare bridges and stacks, and the construction of the 110 km subsea pipeline.

Onshore development contracts were awarded to Petrofac and Hyundai Engineering & Construction. Petrofac’s contract included engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of utilities, transmission pipelines, and cogeneration facilities, as well as upgrading the process controls, electrical systems, and support facilities at the Khursaniyah processing plant. Hyundai was responsible for the gas processing trains, inlet, and utility facilities.

Budget and Timeline

The total budget for the Karan gas field development is estimated to be around $8 billion.

The project timeline involved several phases:

• Discovery in April 2006
• Start of production in July 2011
• Completion of additional wells and platforms by June 2012
• Full production capacity achieved by April 2013.

Significance

The Karan Gas Field is the first non-associated gas field being developed in Saudi Arabia, marking a significant milestone in the country's gas production. The project aims to increase sales gas production capacity and provide fuel and feedstock to the petrochemical industries, contributing to the country's energy needs and economic development.