Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is planning key policy changes to make it easier for contractors to bid on projects, according to a senior executive at one of the energy giant’s subsidiaries.

The company plans to halve the size of bid bonds – bank-backed financial guarantees that a bidder can do work at the price they propose – said Salah al-Bufarah, major projects manager at Adnoc subsidiary Zakum Development Company (Zadco), at the MEED EPC [engineering, procurement and construction] 2009 conference on 20 October.

Bonds will be cut from 10 to 5 per cent of the value of the price they offer, he said.

The company will also standardise the process of qualifying to bid on major oil and gas projects in the emirate. Currently, companies have to prequalify with each of Adnoc’s subsidiaries for projects before they can bid for them.

“We are looking at a system where they are automatically qualified if they prequalify for any of the operating companies’ projects,” he said. “This will apply to both suppliers and EPC companies.”

Adnoc has 14 subsidiaries; companies like Zadco, Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Company (Gasco) and Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Operations (Adco) often develop major projects independently of one another using the same pool of contractors.

Al-Bufarah did not set a timeline for the proposed changes.