Bid Boland under review

27 January 2006
The allocation of new funds for the Bid Boland gas treatment plant is under review by the new head of National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) and the Supreme Economic Council. A decision is likely to be made by the end of the first quarter (MEED 1:7:05).
The allocation of new funds for the Bid Boland gas treatment plant is under review by the new head of National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) and the Supreme Economic Council. A decision is likely to be made by the end of the first quarter (MEED 1:7:05).

'The new administration has decided to look at the project again,' says Gholamreza Manouchehri, head of Petropars, the consultant on the project. 'There is a problem with the budget so we need approval from the Supreme Economic Council.'

Two engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) packages were awarded in June for work on the $2,200 million project, but neither has come into effect. The UK's Costain Oil & Gas, in partnership with Spain's Dragados, and Sazeh Consult and Jahanpars, both local won the estimated $1,600 million for package A, covering the main plant work. The UK-based CB&I John Brown, with the local Tehran Jonoob, won the $600 million pipelines and storage facilities package B. The plant will produce 670,000 tonnes a year (t/y) of naphtha, 1.4 million t/y of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), 1.3 million t/y of ethane and 56 million cubic metres a day of natural gas.

There has been some industry speculation that the project will need revised basic engineering - which would entail retendering the EPC packages. However, Manouchehri says it may not be necessary to start from scratch. 'If the contractors can still give us the same figures, then we will be very happy to continue with them,' he says.

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