Bids were submitted on 27 June by international contractors for the two main packages on the estimated $11,000 million onshore Khurais crude increment programme covering the crude inlet and central gas processing facilities. The client, Saudi Aramco, is expected to award both lump-sum turnkey (LSTK) contracts in the autumn (MEED 12:5:06).

Just two contractors - Italy's Snamprogetti and Paris-based Technip - are understood to have bid for the first package, which covers the construction of crude inlet facilities to process about 1.3 million barrels of wet and sour crude, and four gas-oil separation plants (GOSPs). Four other companies were prequalified to bid for the work, but commitments and heavy workloads elsewhere meant they had to decline.

For the central gas processing facilities package, again only two contractors are understood to have submitted offers. They are the Paris office of Italy's Saipem and a US/South Korean joint venture of Foster Wheeler and Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company. The contract centres on the construction of two processing trains, three sulphur recovery trains, a tank farm, four flares and two natural gas liquids (NGL) spheres. Seven other companies were prequalifed to bid (MEED 17:2:06).

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.

The Khurais development, which is slated to deliver 1.2 million b/d of Arabian Light crude, is a key part of Aramco's investment programme to increase production capacity to 12.5 million b/d by 2009/10 (MEED 23:12:05).