Abu Dhabi has received commercial bids on two major packages to develop its Satah al-Razboot (Sarb) and Umm al-Lulu offshore oil fields, according to sources close to the bidding process.

Offshore producer Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company (Adma-Opco) tendered the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts in the first quarter of 2012 and received technical proposals in June.

The projects are part of Adma-Opco’s plan to add 300,000 barrels a day (b/d) of additional production from four new offshore fields, with about 100,000 b/d coming from both Umm al-Lulu and Sarb.

Adma-Opco received bids from the same group of contractors for Sarb full field development package three on 5 November and Umm al-Lulu full field package one on 6 November, according sources from three bidding companies. The contractors are:

• Hyundai Heavy industries (South Korea)
• Leighton Offshore (Australia)
• McDermott (US)
• NPCC (UAE)
• Petrofac (UK)
• Saipem (Italy)
• Samsung Engineering (South Korea)
• Technip (France)

Sarb package three covers offshore pipelines and platforms, while Umm al-Lulu package one includes the construction of wellhead towers and platforms.

Commercial bids on the much-larger package four of the Sarb full field development, which covers the construction of the project’s main processing plant are expected to be submitted on 26 November. Meanwhile, Adma-Opco has not yet issued a deadline for bids on Umm al-Lulu package two.

Adma-Opco is majority-owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), with minority stakes held by the UK’s BP, France’s Total and Japan Oil Development Company (Jodco).

Offshore developments are playing a key role in Abu Dhabi’s efforts to increase its crude production capacity to 3.5 million barrels a day (b/d) from today’s estimated 2.6 million b/d.

Abu Dhabi’s Zakum Development Company (Zadco) is expected to award an estimated $4bn EPC contract on its Upper Zakum oil field development by the end of the year.