RIYADH: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is to divide a sea water treatment project into two separate projects, with costs set to more than double, to about $5 billion, two sources told CNBC Arabia.
The two stations will be developed in two new locations in Al Mirfa and Al Nouf areas, west of Abu Dhabi city. The first phase is expected to start later this year, the sources said.
Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Group (SMBC) and Alderbrook will be the advisors.
The initial plan included an evaluation of the entire project at a projected cost of $2.5 billion, but the spiralling costs forced a rethink into dividing it into two projects, the sources said.
ADNOC announced last March that it would include the development, financing, construction, operation, maintenance and ownership of two new independent seawater filtration plants with a full treatment capacity of about 210 million gallons per day.
The project also includes the construction of pumping stations and pipelines necessary to transport treated water to the onshore oil fields, which requires a new infrastructure of pipelines with a length of about 450 km, according to the company's official website.
