The bidders for the package to build the plant are Foster Wheeler Italiana, Italy's Snamprogetti, Spain's Tecnicas Reunidas, Italy-based Techintand Paris-based Technip. Nine companies were prequalified last year to bid for the contract, but four subsequently declined. The contract, which industry sources estimate to be worth between $130 million-150 million, is due to be awarded within three months of the submission of bids, with completion set for the second quarter in 2006.

The UK office of US-based Foster Wheeleris providing project management consultancy (PMC) services and the front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the scheme.

The Haradh GOSP-3 plant will support the production of Arabian light crude from the Haradh-3 production area. 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.

Eight companies bid by 14 February for the estimated $50 million-60 million LSTK contract to build the pipeline system for the project. 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. The contract is expected to be awarded by the end of April or early May.

Aramco will supply the pipeline, with the successful contractor procuring all other materials. The project involves 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.

The local Delta Catalytic Saudi Arabia (DCSA), a 50:50 joint venture between

the local AH Al-Zamil Groupand Delta Catalytic, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the US' Jacobs Engineering, is carrying out the FEED on the pipeline portion.