Industry sources said the US supermajor is continuing to carry out early engineering studies on the Block 14 discovery with front-end engineering and design expected to begin late this year.

One source suggested contractors should only expect the bidding process to begin in the first quarter of next year at the earliest.

Didier Keller, chief executive of SBM Offshore, agreed, telling analysts that“it seems Chevron is reviving some activity”.

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