A clutch of leading international engineering contractors are set to battle it out for a substantial front-end engineering and design contract from Adnoc Gas Processing for work on the capacity enhancement at its Asab 1&2 onshore gas terminals.

Multiple people familiar with the development told Upstream that bids for the key engineering contract were recently submitted by at least a quartet of contractors, with the state-owned player likely to finalise an award within two months.

“The operator plans to finalise the FEED award by end of this year, following which it will bring on board a select group of engineering, procurement and construction players,” one person said.

Those thought to be among the bidders for the FEED contract include UK’s TechnipFMC, Australia’s Worley, Canada’s SNC-Lavalin and South Korean player GS E&C, a second person said.

Bechtel and Fluor of the US were also said to be eyeing the FEED job but are unlikely to have bid, he added.

Upstream earlier this year reported that Adnoc Gas Processing — a subsidiary of state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) — had issued tender documents for the FEED job.

In addition to the FEED contract, Adnoc Gas Processing is said to be prequalifying leading international EPC players for involvement during the initial phase of the project.

One person from a leading international EPC giant told Upstream that the state-owned company envisages shortlisting three to five contractors as a part of the project’s early engagement plan.

“They have started engaging EPC players and this list of preferred contractors is likely to be finalised during the first quarter of 2021,” he said.

Those said to be eyeing the pre-qualification exercise for the EPC stage include Italy’s Saipem, UK’s Petrofac, South Korean giants Samsung E&C and Hyundai E&C, and China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation.

Some additional EPC players could also be involved in the pre-qualification race but this could not be confirmed by Upstream.

Fast-track tender

The new tender strategy from the Adnoc subsidiary is aimed at fast-tracking the tender process and reducing the time between the FEED and EPC phases, he added.

The Asab 1&2 facilities are a crucial part of the emirate’s condensate, natural gas liquids and sales gas production capability.

As part of its capacity enhancement project, Adnoc Gas Processing aims to maximise production, injection and sales gas export from the onshore facilities.

Debottlenecking facilities

The FEED study would envisage selecting the design and debottlenecking of the Asab 1&2 terminals to process 1 billion cubic feet per day of gas from the Thammama F and G reservoirs, one person said.

In addition, the project would involve the debottlenecking of Asab 1&2 to process 100 million cubic feet per day of diversion gas from Asab-0/3 reservoir.

Processing of 90 MMcfd of gas from the Habshan Oolite (Hb-Oo) facility is also included, he added.

The FEED studies would also include maximising ethane recovery from the existing Asab 1&2 facilities.

Adnoc has been selectively moving ahead with billions of dollars’ worth of oil and gas investment projects, even as multiple tenders have been delayed by several months, due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Along with the ongoing sour gas developments and other unconventional gas programmes, Adnoc is expected to ramp up its gas production capacity by over 3 Bcfd by 2030.

Field Development

Who's in the frame for key Abu Dhabi engineering contract?