The UAE’s National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) has been awarded a $350m contract to rejuvenate Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company’s (Adma-Opco) oil and gas production and distribution facilities at the offshore Lower Zakum field after a series of delays.

MEED reported in October 2009 that NPCC had been selected for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract after submitting the lowest price in a September competitive bid round, with Adma-Opco passing on its recommendations to Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Petroleum Council (MEED 23:10:09).

However, a formal award was not forthcoming until 18 May, when Adma-Opco announced that it had signed the contract for the project with NPCC. The delays came as a result of a series of technical talks over the project, sources close to the scheme tell MEED.

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) deal is part of the company’s plans to boost production at the Lower Zakum field by 100,000 barrels a day (b/d) to 425,000 b/d by 2015. The contract is scheduled for completion by 2010

The contract covers the ‘demothballing’ of the Zakum central super complex, an underused network of offshore oil and gas processing facilities.

Adma-Opco decommissioned the complex in 1985 and, although it reopened the facilities in 1988, they still only operate at about 50 per cent of capacity.

Adma-Opco wants to revamp the processing facilities so that they can handle 300,000 b/d of oil by the end of 2012.