A quartet of leading offshore contractors are set to battle it out for a key process platform contract from India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) related to its Ratna & R-Series development off the country’s western coast.
Project watchers told Upstream that technical and commercial offers for the offshore platform tender are likely to be submitted next month, with at least four contractors or consortia understood to be preparing bids.
Those likely to do so comprise a mix of domestic and international engineering, procurement, construction and installation contractors.
The players likely to bid include Abu Dhabi’s National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC), Indian engineering giant Larsen & Toubro, a grouping of domestic player Afcons with Malaysia’s Sapura Energy, and another consortium comprising India’s Prajakta Power & Trading with a leading yard from South-East Asia, sources told Upstream.
Although it is early in the process, one source suggested that NPCC could be a strong contender given that it is already working on a contract to supply wellhead platforms and associated infrastructure for Ratna & R-Series.
Technical and commercial offers for the offshore project are due on 9 October, but one source indicated that the process could be delayed by a week or two.
The tender process for the Ratna process platform (RPP) project was initiated by the Indian giant in July, and the contract is likely to be awarded by end of this year.
The workscope for the Ratna process platform project involves engineering, procurement, construction and installation of a new four-legged process platform bridge-connected to the existing R-12A platform.
The workscope also includes the EPCI of a pre-installed rigid water-injection riser.
In addition to the oil and gas processing facilities, the offshore platform is expected to include living quarters and water injection facilities.
The project also includes a bridge, which is likely to be 25 metres long, to connect the envisaged RPP facility to the R-12A platform.
Laying of one water-injection pipeline almost 30 kilometres in length and topsides modification works on the existing facilities is also included, sources said. One industry source indicated that the RPP facility is expected to process between 12,000 and 15,000 barrels per day of oil.
ONGC wants to commission the new process platform facility in 24 months following the contract award.
The RPP facility is believed to be a crucial element of ONGC’s strategy to ramp up oil production from India's west coast.
The Ratna and the R-Series fields are a part of ONGC’s Neelam & Heera asset, located about 130 kilometres south-west of Mumbai in water depths ranging from 40 to 50 metres.
ONGC last year took up the development of the Ratna & R-Series fields for the production of well fluids and transportation to the Heera process complex.
The development scheme consists of the installation of four wellhead platforms, one wellhead/riser platform and intra-field submarine pipelines.
NPCC last year won a $330 million contract to carry out work on the Ratna & R-Series development.
NPCC’s workscope includes the five initial platforms — R-7A, R-9A, R-10A, E-12B and R-13A — as well as associated pipelines and cables.
In addition, more than 140 kilometres of subsea pipelines were thought to be included.
ONGC is also carrying out the revamp of the existing R-12A offshore platform in the Ratna & R-Series field through a separate tender process. The company had initially planned to hire a mobile offshore production unit for the oilfields.
However, it later cancelled this tender process and decided instead to commission the process platform.
The offshore fields comprise eight oil-bearing structures, including the R-12 facility.
The $600 million-plus Ratna & R-Series development is likely to yield 61 million barrels of oil and 1.7 billion cubic metres of gas on a cumulative basis.
