Drilling package up for grabs: in Saudi Arabia
'Aramco eyes South Ghawar job'
Saudi Aramco plans to award an integrated drilling contract in South Ghawar worth $500 million in a bid to cut costs, according to reports.
"They want one company to provide the rigs, directional services. The objective is to cut costs," an oil services company sources close to the bidding process told Reuters.
Aramco is expected to award the contract by the middle of next month, they said.
Baker Hughes, Sinopec, Schlumberger, Halliburton and Weatherford are believed to be bidding for the job.
"It's an integrated project management from A to Z. What Aramco is trying to do is packaging and give the field to a services company to develop it," another source involved in the bidding process told the news agency.
"Today, there are Aramco rigs working there... Aramco now wants to give the project, the block to a services company which will provide rigs, engineering," he said.
The five-year turnkey project will allow services providers to fully manage the drilling operations including rigs.
Three sources said the contract would involve work at Uthmaniyah, Haradh and Hawiyah, located in Ghawar, the world's largest oilfield.