Wintershall Appoints Helge Beuthan to Head ME

Germany's largest crude oil and natural gas producer Wintershall Holding has appointed Helge Beuthan as new general manager of its Middle East division in Abu Dhabi.

Beuthan, the current vice president for global subsurface evaluation, would take over the duties of Uwe Salge in Abu Dhabi on February 1, said a press release from the wholly owned subsidiary of BASF.

The previous General Manager will return to Wintershall in Kassel, where he will take over Beuthan's area of responsibility.

Helge Beuthan has been with Wintershall since 1995 and brings with him extensive E&P experience from various positions, such as the German oil and gas activities in Barnstorf, in Libya as well as at the headquarters.

In future Wintershall will be increasingly involved in Abu Dhabi – one of the most important centers for oil and gas production in the world: to this end, the company has acquired shares in the Ghasha concession belonging to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The associated Hail, Ghasha and Dalma sour gas and condensate fields as well as others such as Nasr, SARB and Mubarraz are situated in the Al Dhafra region off the coast of the Gulf Emirate. This is therefore the first time in its history that Wintershall has become involved in natural gas and condensate production in Abu Dhabi.

The contracts for developing the natural resources were awarded by the government of Abu Dhabi with a term of 40 years. In addition to Wintershall, ADNOC's project partners are the Italian oil and gas company, ENI, and the Austrian company, OMV.

According to ADNOC's plans, the first production from the fields is scheduled for the middle of the next decade. More than 40 million cubic meters of natural gas are then set to be produced per day, which corresponds to the electricity requirement of more than two million households.

Besides sour and sweet gas, considerable amounts of condensate are also contained in the reservoirs. At the highest expansion level, more than 120,000 barrels of oil and high-quality condensate will be produced daily. The Ghasha concession can thus contribute more than 20 percent to the natural gas requirements of the United Arab Emirates.