Sources in Abu Dhabi say the Houston-based oil major is most likely to win the concession after it was shortlisted, along with three other international oil companies, for the contract in 2007.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has declined to confirm or deny that it had selected Conoco, while the oil major itself declined to respond to questions on the matter.
If it were to win the deal, Conoco’s victory would take the industry by surprise as it was widely believed that two of the other firms competing for the contract, the UK/Dutch Shell Group and the US’ Occidental Petroleum, were in better positions during the negotiating process (MEED 7:12:07).
The only other company competing for the contract is the US’ ExxonMobil Corporation.
The sour gas scheme involves the production of more than 1 billion cubic feet a day of sour gas.