ADNOC Offshore has selected contractors for the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation packages underpinning the Upper Zakum UZ 1.5MMBD project, a more than $10 billion offshore expansion set across Abu Dhabi’s vast artificial island network. The development targets an increase in production capacity at Upper Zakum to 1.5 million barrels per day, cementing its status as one of the most consequential oil field expansions on the planet. Located approximately 84 kilometres offshore in Abu Dhabi, Upper Zakum is the world’s second largest offshore oil field and the fourth largest globally, making the contractor selections a closely watched procurement milestone across the international energy construction sector. The awards encompass offshore processing facilities, wellhead platforms, utility systems, water injection infrastructure, pipelines, and extensive brownfield integration works, with NMDC Energy, McDermott International, and Saipem emerging as selected contractors across the major EPCI packages. Technip Energies had previously led the pre-FEED and FEED phases, positioning the project for the full-scale execution now underway. Multiple packages will proceed simultaneously to accelerate delivery, with phased completion targeted through 2027.

Offshore Ambition Reshaping the Gulf Energy Landscape

The Upper Zakum expansion sits at the apex of a regional offshore construction surge that is pulling in the world’s most capable EPCI contractors and driving record workloads at fabrication yards from Abu Dhabi to South Korea. ADNOC’s broader strategy targets a combined national production capacity of five million barrels per day by 2027, and Upper Zakum’s artificial island model, long praised for limiting environmental disturbance while enabling extended-reach drilling records, is central to that ambition. The previous expansion phase, UZ 750, which brought the field’s capacity to 750,000 barrels per day, was completed in 2022 through packages jointly executed by NMDC Energy with Technip Energies and by Petrofac with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Engineering, giving ADNOC a proven contractor base to draw from again. The scale of the current phase dwarfs its predecessor. In parallel, ADNOC has been building out its gas processing infrastructure onshore: the $3.6 billion MERAM project, which was awarded to a joint venture of Técnicas Reunidas and NPCC and targets a 35 to 40 percent increase in ethane extraction at the Hashbash complex alongside a 120-kilometre NGL pipeline to Ruwais, underscores how ADNOC is simultaneously expanding both its upstream and downstream hydrocarbon infrastructure at scale. Across the Gulf, Saudi Aramco recently advanced $1.7 billion in offshore works to preferred bidders, confirming that the region’s national oil producers are committing capital to marine infrastructure at a pace not seen in a decade.

Project Fact Sheet

• Project Name: Upper Zakum Offshore Expansion (UZ 1.5MMBD)
• Location: Offshore Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (approximately 84 km offshore)
• Project Value: More than US$10 billion
• Client / Owner: ADNOC Offshore
• Selected EPCI Contractors: NMDC Energy, McDermott International, Saipem
• FEED Contractor: Technip Energies
• Production Capacity Target: Up to 1.5 million barrels per day
• Key Scope: Offshore processing facilities, wellhead platforms, utility and water injection systems, offshore pipelines, brownfield modifications, digital monitoring and AI integration
• Development Model: Artificial island-based offshore development
• Strategic Partners: ExxonMobil, INPEX, JODCO
• Expected Completion: Phased delivery through 2027
• Strategic Objective: Advance UAE national production target of 5 million bpd by 2027

Project Team

• Client / Owner: ADNOC Offshore
• EPCI Contractor (Package 1): NMDC Energy
• EPCI Contractor (Package 2): McDermott International
• EPCI Contractor (Package 3): Saipem
• FEED Engineer: Technip Energies
• Strategic Partner (Upstream): ExxonMobil
• Strategic Partner (Upstream): INPEX Corporation
• Drilling Contractor: ADNOC Drilling
• Regulatory Authority: UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure
• National Energy Policy Body: Supreme Petroleum Council, Abu Dhabi