Four companies have submitted commercial bids for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build a gas-oil separation plant on Das Island, off the shore of Abu Dhabi.

The project is part of Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company’s (Adma-Opco) efforts to increase production by upgrading the process facilities at Das Island, its main production, processing and logistics hub.

The bidders are Athens-based Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC), local NPCC, India’s Larsen & Toubro and local Topaz.

“The contract should be around $100m-plus,” says a source at a bidding company.

Adma-Opco is currently implementing a series of schemes to boost production at its offshore oil and gas fields. The company hopes to increase output from current levels of about 600,000 barrels as day (b/d) to 1 million b/d by 2015.

Das Island is Adma-Opco’s offshore base. Located 180 kilometres from Abu Dhabi city and close to the Umm Shaif and Zakum fields, the island houses oil and gas processing, storage and export facilities, the utilities, power generation and accommodation sites.

Adma-Opco already operates the Zakum and Umm Shaif and Bundug processing plants, a condensate treatment unit, dehydration and desalting units and gas-sweetening unit on the island.

Gas separated from the crude at the plants is delivered to the Adgas liquefied natural gas process area on the island. Adgas currently operates three liquefied natural gas (LNG) trains on the island. A pipeline transports the crude from the island to the mainland.