Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (Adco) has received engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) bids for a major gas compression project at its Bab field.

Four companies submitted technical proposals to build the estimated $500m scheme, which is planned to construct a second phase of gas compressors at the onshore oil and gas field.

The bidding contractors were Spain’s Intecsa, South Korean groups Samsung Engineering and SK Engineering & Construction (SK E&C), and UK-based Petrofac. Commercial bids are expected to be submitted during November with the contract likely to be awarded in early 2013. South Korea’s SK E&C carried out the early consultancy work and the front-end engineering and design phase (feed) on the project.

The project forms part of Adco’s plans to increase gas production at the Bab field to 2.5 billion cubic feet a day (cf/d) from the present 1.8 billion cf/d. The scope of the project includes a new compressor station comprising three compressors, a new gas-gathering system to accommodate 32 wells and associated facilities.

The compressors will maintain the pressure in the pipeline connecting Adco’s Bab gas-gathering operations to the Habshan gas processing and distribution hub.

Adco is a joint venture of state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), the UK’s BP, the US’ ExxonMobil, the UK/Dutch Shell Group, France’s Total and Portugal’s Partex Oil & Gas.