Abu Dhabi has asked companies to submit technical bids on 2 March for the Bab Integrated Facilities expansion project to develop one of the emirate’s major onshore fields.

Project operator Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Petroleum Operations (Adco) has prequalified seven engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies and consortiums to submit proposals for the project.

The EPC package has an estimated budget of just under $2bn, according to a source familiar with the project. Commercial proposals are expected to be submitted in the first week of May after assessment of the technical bids.

The contractors bidding on the project are thought to be:

• Daelim (South Korea)
• GS Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• Petrofac (UK)
• SK Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• Saipem (Italy)
• Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain)
• Tecnimont (Italy)

Petrofac was awarded the project’s front-end engineering and design (feed) contract for $21m and completed the study in August 2014.

The project will install new facilities at Adco’s Bab field, located 160 kilometres southwest of Abu Dhabi city. Surface facilities will be delivered for the Thamama-A, Thamama-H and Thamama-B production zones to achieve a total sustainable oil production rate of 450,000 barrels a day (b/d).

The field is sour with high hydrogen sulphide content and Adco injects aquifer water into the producing zones to maintain pressure. Associated gas is separated at the Bab Central Degassing Station (BCDS) is delivered to Abu Dhabi Gas Industries (Gasco) for processing, and processed crude oil is pumped to Adco export network.

Abu Dhabi is currently in the process of forming a new Adco joint venture to manage its onshore oil operations.

In January it was announced that French oil major Total had been awarded a 10 per cent stake in Adco and was appointed asset manager of several fields, not including Adco.

It is expected that another international oil company (IOCs) will take the asset manager role for Bab – one of the emirate’s largest onshore oil production assets.