Of the seven international companies that have prequalified to bid, four sent representatives. They were Paris-based Technip-Coflexip, the UK's Kvaerner E&C, JGC Corporation of Japan, and US-based Fluor Daniel.

In early August, Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) issued the tender for the long-awaited project, which is estimated to be worth KD 270 million ($880 million - MEED 16:2:02).

The project is being tendered in four major packages. It includes: the construction of 19 storage tanks, with a total capacity of 11.4 million barrels, at the existing north and south tank farms; five new 20-kilometre pipelines; and the installation of two 14,500-tonne-an-hour pumps, three oil fiscal metering skids and an offshore booster station.

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract also entails the supply and installation of: three new 56-inch-diameter, 20-25-kilometre crude oil pipelines; two new single point mooring calm buoys; a telemetry system; and related facilities (MEED 29:3:02; 4:1:02).

The US' Parsons Engineering Corporation has carried out the front-end engineering and design (FEED) work for the scheme. The project is targeted for completion by the end of 2005, by which time KOC plans to have added 1.5 million barrels a day to its production capacity.