Nine companies are prequalified to bid for the GOSP-3 lump-sum turnkey (LSTK) contract. They are: CBI Arabia, part of the US' Chicago Bridge & Iron Company (CBI), Chiyoda Corporation and JGC Corporation, both of Japan, South Korea's Daelim Industrial Company, Foster Wheeler Italiana, Italy's Snamprogetti, Spain's Tecnicas Reunidas, Italy-based Techintand Paris-based Technip.

The companies have been invited to attend a job explanation meeting in London on 9 December. The bid deadline is 27 January, with the contract due to be awarded three months later. The project is due to come on stream in April 2006.

The GOSP-3 facility will have capacity to produce 300,000 barrels a day of Arabian light crude. Apart from the GOSP unit, the successful bidder will install a desalter/dehydrator, a water/oil separator, two high-pressure production traps, a low-pressure production trap, three seawater injection pumps, two crude shipping pumps, plant utilities and gas-gathering facilities. Additional work covers the installation of an injection pump at Haradh GOSP-2.

Aramco has also released the ITB for the LSTK contract to build the pipeline sections related to the construction of the GOSP-3 facility. Eight companies are prequalified to bid by 17 January for the contract. They are: Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC), Lebanon's Contracting & Trading (CAT), Italy's Saipem, the Netherlands' Suedrohrbau, the local Tamimi Construction, Techint, the German office of Technip and Turkey's Tekfen. A job explanation meeting will be held on 22 November.

The project will extend existing pipeline systems to transport crude oil, gas and seawater to and from the Haradh GOSP-3 facility. The package covers the construction of more than 170 kilometres of crude and gas pipelines with diameters ranging from 24-48 inches, and 150 kilometres of smaller-diameter lines to transport seawater. Aramco will supply the pipeline, with the successful contractor procuring all other materials. Aramco plans to award the contract by the end of April (MEED 17:10:03).

The US' Foster Wheeleris providing project management consultancy (PMC) services and the front-end engineering and design (FEED) on the scheme.

Last year, Aramco awarded two GOSP contracts under the Qatif incremental oil and associated gas project to Snamprogetti and CBI Arabia (MEED 8:3:02).