Engineering companies have submitted prequalification documents to Qatar Petroleum (QP) ahead of bidding for front-end engineering & design (Feed) work for phase two of its Bul Hanine gas field redevelopment project.

“Prequalification documents have already been submitted and the invitation to bid is expected to be issued in the second quarter, if QP decides to go ahead with the second phase,” the source said.

The Bul Hanine redevelopment project is expected to double the field’s current production rate from 40,000 to 95,000 barrels a day and extend the life of the field by over 25 years.

The project was originally expected to be worth around $11bn, but the collapse in oil prices since June 2014 has made some industry insiders doubtful about whether the second phase of the project will go ahead.

Norwegian engineering company Aker is currently in the final stages of a pre-feed feasibility study for the second phase of the Bul Hanine project and is expected to deliver results within four weeks.

According to industry insiders the value of the second phase will be decided by the results of the Aker study and the Norwegian company is under pressure from QP to find ways to cut costs.

“If Aker can’t find solutions that reduce the price of phase 2 the project is likely to be shelved,” one source said.

Earlier this year the Australian engineering company WorleyParsons was awarded the feed contract for part of the Bul Hanine project known as Phase 1b.

In October 2015 Qatar Petroleum awarded US engineering contractor McDermott International an engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract for four wellhead jackets, including two that will be installed in the Bul-Hanine field.