Contractors are preparing bids for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (Adnoc) Hail and Ghasha offshore sour gas field development project as part of an early engagement process.

According to sources, contractors that have formed consortiums to bid for the Hail and Ghasha engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works are working towards a 26 September deadline to submit proposals.

MEED reported in late August that two teams had formed for the offshore and onshore EPC scope of work on the gas production project.

Italian contractor Saipem, Abu Dhabi’s National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) and state-owned China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Company (CPECC) have formed a consortium for the offshore scope of work on the Hail and Ghasha project. Sources say the estimated value of the offshore package is $5bn.

France’s Technip Energies, South Korean contractor Samsung Engineering and Italy’s Tecnimont have teamed up for the onshore work. The estimated value of the onshore package is $6bn, according to sources.

Project progress

Technip Energies is also working on a contract that was awarded by Adnoc in November last year to revise the front-end engineering and design (feed) of the Hail and Ghasha project.

The revised feed works aim to reduce the overall capital expenditure on the scheme, which was previously estimated to be $15bn and was initiated in early 2019.

An Adnoc spokesperson previously said: “The Ghasha feed is progressing and we expect it to be completed by the end of the year. Production from the Ghasha concession is expected to start in 2025, ramping up to more than 1.5 billion [standard cubic feet a day] before the end of the decade.”

In March, MEED reported that several contractors were participating in the prequalification process for the EPC works on the project.

Previously, Adnoc was considering two different approaches for the Hail and Ghasha project, with both options consisting of three main EPC packages.

Both approaches involved building offshore drilling centres, a central offshore processing plant, an onshore processing plant, central living quarters, subsea pipelines, umbilicals, riser platforms, offsite export pipelines and other utilities.

Gas production

The Hail and Ghasha fields, along with the Hair Dalma, Satah, Bu Haseer, Nasr, Sarb, Shuwaihat and Mubarraz fields are located in Abu Dhabi’s offshore Ghasha concession.

Adnoc holds the majority 55 per cent stake in the Ghasha concession. The other stakeholders are Italian energy major Eni with 25 per cent; Germany’s Wintershall Dea with 10 per cent; and Austria’s OMV and Russia’s Lukoil, each with 5 per cent.

Adnoc plans to produce more than 1.5 billion cubic feet a day of sour gas from the Ghasha concession by the middle of this decade. This target is aligned with the company's broader goal of achieving gas self-sufficiency for the UAE by 2030.

In November last year, Adnoc and its partners in the Ghasha concession awarded two EPC contracts for the Dalma offshore sour gas development project. Abu Dhabi’s National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) and Spain-headquartered Tecnicas Reunidas won contracts worth a total of $1.46bn for executing offshore and onshore EPC works on the Dalma project, respectively.

Four artificial islands have already been completed in the Ghasha concession, and development drilling is under way.

In addition, Adnoc awarded two contracts totalling $2bn to its subsidiary Adnoc Drilling in July for the Hail and Ghasha offshore sour gas field development project.

The awards comprise a $1.3bn contract for integrated drilling services and fluids, and a $711m contract for the provision of four island drilling units. Their duration is 10 years.

Adnoc also awarded a third contract, valued at $681m, to another subsidiary company, Adnoc Logistics & Services, to provide offshore logistics and marine support services for the planned Hail and Ghasha development.