Abu Dhabi’s Zakum Development Company (Zadco) is expected to officially award an estimated $800m contract for offshore early production facilities (EPF) in the first week of July.

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) deal is set to be awarded to a consortium of local group National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) and France’s Technip, according to sources close to the bidding process.

The deal, known as EPC1, will handle the construction of offshore section of Zadco’s scheme to boost oil production at its Upper Zakum field.

The onshore EPC2 section, which covers the construction of processing and other facilities on artificial islands, is also in the bidding stage.

Contractors are preparing commercial bids for EPC2 after technical proposals were submitted in early May, with seven companies in the running for the contract.

Although, according to one contractor, the EPC award for the onshore section of the project is not expected to be awarded until the end of 2012.

The contract forms part of Zadco’s plans to increase crude oil output in the Upper Zakum fields to 750,000 barrels a day (b/d) from 500,000 b/d by 2015.

Last week, Zadco awarded UAE/Australian Habtoor Leighton Group the EPC contract to build accommodation for workers on Upper Zakum’s artificial islands.

Zadco is a joint venture of state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), US oil major ExxonMobil and Japan Oil Development Company.