Strategic assets for the UAE’s gas needs

UAE

Khamis Al Mazrouei, CEO of Sharjah National Oil Company (SNOC), talks to The Energy Year about how the Hedeba field could double the company’s gas production and adding storage infrastructure to meet growing gas demand in the UAE. SNOC is a government-owned company that manages oil and gas production, storage and distribution assets in Sharjah.

What is the potential for SNOC to become a UAE-wide player in gas production and distribution?
Firstly, we are in the right geographical position for that, and we also have the right infrastructure. Sharjah is the only emirate that has borders with all the others and with Oman and has a coastline on both gulfs. Secondly, our gas complex is the hub of nearly all the main gas pipelines in the Northern Emirates.
Sharjah was a major gas producer in the 1990s and met most of the gas demand in the Northern Emirates and Dubai. SNOC now remains a major gas player managing the full gas supply and demand picture in Sharjah through long-term gas import and sales contracts in addition to its own gas production, while managing seasonal variations through its own gas storage infrastructure. SNOC is here for the long term. We are invested in Sharjah’s energy security and have a full exploration programme lined up.
In 2019, we launched an exploration tender and Eni – the Italian energy company – won three areas. They operate two and SNOC operates the third. SNOC has discovered two new gas fields since 2020: Mahani and Hedeba. In addition, SNOC participated in a concession in Ras Al Khaimah in 2024 with Eni. Exploration options outside Sharjah are also being considered, both within the UAE and internationally.

You have plans to bring the Hedeba field on stream. What will be the impact of that asset?
The Hedeba field is small, but we expect its output to be of very high quality. Initial indications show it is rich and holds a significant amount of liquids mixed in with the gas – similar to the original Sajaa field and better than our other fields.
When we started drilling Hedeba, it was not an exploration well; it was an extension of Sajaa. We expected the location would be a less-depleted portion of the Sajaa field, and we named it Sajaa 43 – as in the 43rd well of Sajaa. However, when we penetrated the reservoir, we found near-virgin pressure.
While it is too early to discuss reserves, it is safe to say there will be a significant increase in our current production. The field could more than double our current output. Gas demand in the summer is almost 9.9 mcm (350 mcf) per day, and that is not even the full demand, because part of Sharjah’s power demand is met by direct power import. If Sharjah generated 100% of its electricity, gas demand would be almost 14.2 mcm (500 mcf). As mentioned earlier, SNOC manages the full Sharjah gas demand through its production, import contracts and gas storage infrastructure.

What are your key strategic priorities for the coming years?
Our number one priority is meeting 100% of Sharjah’s gas demand without interruption, but sustainability is also a high priority. In 2022, we announced that we wanted our operations to reach net zero within 10 years. As part of that, we started publishing annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reports in 2021 that are verified by DNV. Sharjah has been tracking GHG emissions since 2000, and when SNOC was formed in 2010, we continued recording greenhouse gas emissions for internal use, which made it an easy transition to publishing our annual reports.
To achieve net zero, we have built a 60-MW solar plant whose electricity production will be significantly larger than our consumption. The plant is scheduled to become operational in Q2 2025 and will deliver a reduction of almost 50% in total emissions. It will be a significant milestone, but we still have to eliminate the other 50%. We are conducting studies on the electrification of our gas turbines and minimising incidental flaring and fugitive methane emissions.
Carbon capture and storage is also another major part of our renewables strategy. We conducted a study with SLB and JGC and have another under way with Sumitomo, but we are still a long way from the implementation phase. The biggest challenge remains that the UAE does not have a carbon credit carbon tax system.

Can you share some of your goals for the next five years?
We have entered Ras Al Khaimah and hope to enter other emirates or Oman. In the future, we may consider international markets. I hope we can expand our gas storage infrastructure and double our capacity, as I anticipate that industry players in the UAE will soon seek storage with us. We have already signed gas storage agreements with Ras Al Khaimah and SEWA and look forward to signing with others.

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