Called central gas processing facilities (CPF), the estimated $2,000 million package will entail the construction of two processing trains to dehydrate 300 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) of sour gas, three sulphur recovery trains, each with capacity of 183 tonnes a day, demethanisation facilities using propane refrigeration, a 1.8 million-barrel tank farm, four flares and two natural gas liquids (NGL) spheres capable of storing 70,000 barrels.

The estimated $11,000 million Khurais oil field development project is being carried out in several packages. A tender is due to be issued by early February for the second major package - the gas-oil separation plants (GOSPs) package, also worth an estimated $2,000 million. About five companies have already been prequalified. 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.

Technical and commercial bids are due to be submitted by the extended deadline of 31 January for the offsites and utilities package. Worth $750 million, it is aimed at the reinjection of 2 million b/d of treated seawater into the Khurais, Abu Jifan and Mazalij fields. Tenders are due to be issued by early February for the $750 million seawater/crude oil pipelines package.

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, Canada's SNC Lavalinand 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 (see Last Word). The next major scheme is the expansion of the Shaybah onshore oil field, for which bids are due to be submitted by the extended deadline of 4 February for the CPF package (MEED 23:12:05).