Snamprogetti has been selected for packages 2 and 4 on the programme, which were originally valued at about $1,700 million. The two contracts cover the project's offsites and utilities (O&U) and Qurayyah seawater treatment plant.

The scope of works includes the construction of common utilities, seawater injection facilities, treatment modules, pumps and substations, all aimed at the reinjection of 2 million barrels a day (b/d) of treated seawater into the Khurais, Abu Jifan and Mazalij fields to support the production of Arabian Light crude. The duration of both contracts is about three years (MEED 3:2:06).

SNC's contract, worth an estimated $400 million, covers package 5, also known as water injection pumps station (WIPS-1). It calls for the supply and installation of two pump trains and a seawater injection pump train, plus related facilities (MEED 17:2:06).

In keeping with Aramco's recent contracting strategy, all three contracts will be awarded on a convertible lump-sum turnkey basis (LSTK) with initial engineering work carried out on a cost reimbursable basis before being converted to lump-sum once the majority of detailed engineering is complete.

At least five international contractors have been invited to bid by 15 May for package 3, the central gas processing facilities. The estimated $2,000 million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract centres on the construction of two processing trains to dehydrate 300 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) of sour gas, three sulphur recovery trains, a 1.8 million-barrel tank farm, four flares and two natural gas liquids (NGL) spheres together capable of storing 70,000 barrels.

A tender is expected soon for package 1 covering the gas-oil separation plants (GOSPs). Also worth an estimated $2,000 million, it will include the construction of crude inlet facilities to process about 1.32 million barrels of wet and sour crude, and four GOSPs, each with capacity of 330,000 barrels a day (b/d) and 400 million cf/d (MEED 20:1:06).

Foster Wheeler, with its in-kingdom partner Sofcon, is the project management consultant (PMC) on all major elements of the programme, except the seawater/crude oil pipeline and injection facilities, which are being handled by a group of the US-based Jacobs Engineering, SNC and Saudi Consulting Services (SaudConsult).

The Khurais development, which is slated to deliver 1.2 million b/d of Arabian Light crude, is the centrepiece of Aramco's investment programme to increase production capacity to 12.5 million b/d by 2009/10 (MEED 23:12:05).

www.meed.com/oilgas