Half a dozen leading offshore contractors are battling it out to join a preferred list of pre-qualified players that would compete for India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corporation's (ONGC) wellhead platform projects to be tendered over the next three years.

Industry sources told Upstream that the state-controlled Indian giant is close to drawing up a shortlist of offshore engineering, procurement and construction contractors that will participate in its upcoming tenders involving wellhead platforms.

“ONGC is expected to finalise the list of empanelled contractors for wellhead platforms later this month,” a source from one of the participating players told Upstream.

The empanelment is likely to be valid for a three-year period, he added.

Project watchers said ONGC wants to move to a tendering strategy for offshore platforms similar to Saudi Aramco’s long-term agreements with offshore contractors, where a qualified group of contractors are allowed to bid on EPC projects.

Those thought to have submitted bids for the pre-qualification process and are said to be in the frame include Abu Dhabi’s National Petroleum Construction Company, PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation, Malaysia’s Sapura Energy, Indian engineering giant Larsen & Toubro, compatriot Afcons with Malaysia’s MMHE, and another group that comprises Indonesia’s Gunanusa Utama Fabricators with an Indian partner, sources said.

“We are hearing that up to five players will be selected by ONGC,” one source said.

The operator over the next three years is expected to tender for dozens of wellhead platforms, as it aims to fast-track production from west coast and east coast offshore fields.

At the top on the list is expected to be the Daman upside project, which is likely to be offered to the shortlisted players within a month or two.

Six wellhead platforms that form part of the Daman project are likely to be offered, one source said.

ONGC — led by managing director Shashi Shanker — is also preparing later this year to tender the GK-28/42 shallow-water gas development project in the Gujarat Kutch area, which is expected to include several wellhead platforms.

In addition, ONGC is set to initiate tendering activity on the joint development of the KG-OSN-2004/1 and GS-49/2 shallow-water assets in the Krishna Godavari basin off India's east coast.

The company hopes the process of empanelling a select group of contractors will help reduce costs and improve efficiencies on fast-track offshore developments.

However, some sources have raised concerns over the process and its execution model.

One source said that while the empanelled group of contractors would be issued tenders for upcoming projects on a pre-qualification basis, players outside the group might also qualify individually at a later stage if they meet the qualification criteria.

“The empanelled group will certainly have an edge above others following the pre-qualification process. However, this won’t mean that others will not be allowed to make a case for qualification, since ONGC follows an open international tendering process,” he said.

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Six in line to make ONGC's wellhead platforms list