Saudi Aramco opens Haradh crude increment III

In addition to its maximum production capacity of 300,000 bpd of Arabian Light crude, the facility has a gas processing capacity of 140 million standard cubic feet (scf) per day of associated gas.

In excess of 1,090 tons of structural steel and 3,100 tons of steel piping were used in the project. Approximately 160 km of new pipeline and extensions will transport crude and gas products from Haradh GOSP III to processing facilities in Abqaiq and 'Uthmaniyah. More than 150 km of new pipeline and extensions to existing conduits were constructed in order to transport treated seawater and produced salt water for injection to maintain reservoir pressure.

The control facilities consist of a main Control Room, a Main Electrical Switchgear Building, Plant Storage and a Maintenance Shop. Haradh GOSP III is the first plant in Saudi Aramco to have full-scale, automated, remote well-control and monitoring, enabling wells to be opened, closed, choked, and controlled down-hole by a simple click, using the state-of-art SCADA system.

Haradh III was successfully completed ahead of schedule and under budget, having been officially approved in April 2004 and completed during January 2006. The integrated team approach throughout the life of the project, from design to construction to commissioning, was instrumental in meeting the challenging schedule of the project.

In terms of safety, no lost-time accidents were reported after 8.6 million work-hours spent in construction of the project.