Contactors have been requested to respond by 22 July to a prequalification inquiry covering the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract on the revised scheme.

The Bu Hasa surface upgrade project, estimated to be worth $200 million-250 million, was issued for bid in early 2002 among EPC contractors. However, the client has recently informed the bidders that the tender has been cancelled. The upgrade is aimed at increasing water separation capacity to 480,000 barrels a day (b/d) from 100,000 b/d. Four separation units are to be installed, each of 120,000 b/d in capacity, to replace two existing two-phase units with capacity of 50,000 b/d each. Italy's Snamprogetti was the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contractor for the upgrade (MEED 15:2:02; 11:1:02).

The Bu Hasa gas injection project centres on the G, F and D reservoirs. About 95 million cubic feet a day of gas and 120,000 b/d of water is to be injected into the reservoirs to maintain pressure. France's Technip-Coflexipis carrying out the FEED (MEED 1:3:02).