Bechtel and an alliance of KBR and Japan's JGC are carrying out two separate design studies to determine, among other things, the optimal project structure and size.
One of ExxonMobil's project partners Santos said the parallel studies were being done¿to create competitive tension¿.
Well-placed sources said this potentially meant that either Bechtel or KBR-JGC could be well-positioned for the FEED contract, which will be tendered in late 2007.
However,
