UK oil major BP has prequalified seven engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firms to bid for a major deal to build new facilities at the Rumaila oil field in the south of Iraq.

The seven firms will compete for the construction of a greenfield processing unit with three production trains of 150,000 barrels a day (b/d), according to sources close to the project.

The seven firms are:

• Daelim Industrial (Japan)
• Daewoo Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• GS Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• Hyundai Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• Petrofac (UK)
• Saipem (Italy)
• Samsung Engineering (South Korea)

The tender is expected to be released before September, according to the source. It will be the first major EPC deal launched by BP and its partners at the field, China National Petroleum Corporation and state-owned South Oil Company (SOC). So far, the group has only awarded a few deals, including three drilling contracts and an inspection and repair deal, since winning the contract to develop Iraq’s largest oil field in 2009.