State-run Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Company (Gasco) and Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction Company (Adgas) said on Tuesday they have awarded about $1.6 billion worth of contracts to expand the country's natural gas processing facilities.

The contracts for engineering, procurement construction  (EPC) work were awarded to a consortium involving Italy's Maire Tecnimont, Greece's Archirodon, Spain's Tecnicas Reunidas, and the UAE's National Petroleum Construction Company.

The project will develop and expand facilities to boost gas transfer from offshore to onshore as part of the UAE's plans to meet increasing local demand for gas, the companies said.

Adgas, majority-owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, said last year that it planned to increase gas production to as much as 2.4 billion standard cu ft (scf) per day by 2017, from 2 billion scf per day.-Reuters