Abu Dhabi will award contracts worth as much as $10bn on two major oil and gas schemes before the end of 2009, according to the chief executive officer (CEO) of an international engineering firm based in the emirate.

Peter Warner, head of UAE/UK joint venture Petrofac Emirates, told delegates at the MEED Oil & Gas EPC [engineering, procurement and construction] 2009 conference on 20 October that awards would be made on a major refinery expansion at Ruwais and a scheme to boost the emirate’s onshore oil production by 400,000 barrels a day by the end of the year.

The first project, the expansion of a refinery complex at Ruwais, is being tendered by state-run Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Company (Takreer). Warner values the project at $5-10bn.

Takreer is in the process of tendering the five main EPC contracts for the construction of the facilities, which will add 400,000 barrels a day (b/d) to the emirate’s refining capacity. Final bids for the packages are due in November.

The second project is the ‘1.8 million’ development, to increase the emirate’s onshore oil production by 400,000 b/d from current levels of around 1.4 million b/d. Final bids for work on the Bab and Qusawirah oilfields are due by 25 November. The scheme is being developed by Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations.

“Takreer is moving quickly on [the refinery] and I would expect that they will award contracts by the end of the year,” Warner said. “On the 1.8 project I think the decision will be made by the end of the year even if contracts are not awarded until 2010.”

Projects tracker MEED Projects CMI values the deals at more than $10bn.