Saudi Aramco has extended the bid deadline for the first phase, System A, of its tight gas project in the north of the kingdom to allow contractors more time to submit bids.

The oil major has also not yet finalised the prequalification for the second phase, System B, of the scheme, and is not expected to release the tender until May at the earliest. International engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors were invited to prequalify for the second phase in late January.

MEED reported in September 2014 that the scope of works for System A included a gas gathering centre with a capacity of 50 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) as well as a central control centre in Waad al-Shamal. The exact location is expected to be near Turaif, close to the Jordanian border.

System A is being tendered on a lump-sum turnkey basis and is being offered as in-kingdom EPC (IK-EPC) only. This means all the engineering and project management will have to be carried out by personnel based in Saudi Arabia.

Two contractors are vying for System A and the bid deadline has now been extended to 3 May. They are:

• JGC Corporation (Japan)
• SNC Lavalin (Canada)

The scope of works for System B includes the construction of 50 wellheads, as well as 50 flowlines, six inches in diameter. The wellheads and flowlines will be linked to five gathering centres, each with a capacity of 50 million cf/d.

The gas from System B will then be sent through a 70-kilometre pipeline to Waad al-Shamal, the industrial phosphates city that will be fed with gas from the scheme. Industrial support facilities (ISFs) will also be constructed.  

It has yet to be established if System B will also be offered on an IK-EPC basis.  Usually IK-EPC does not attract as much interest from contractors compared with when an open tender is offered.

All the surface facilities for both systems will be skid-mounted, meaning they can be transferred elsewhere when the reservoirs have been depleted.