Dana Gas has signed letters of intent (LOI) with two companies for the development of the offshore Zora gas field in the UAE, according to a source close to the project.

US-based Exterran has been selected for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the project’s onshore gas processing facility, which has a design capacity of 40 million cubic feet a day (cf/d).

Abu Dhabi-based National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) has been chosen for the procurement and installation of pipelines connecting the offshore production facilities with the processing plant.

The pipeline package includes the installation of a 12-inch, 35-kilometre offshore gas and condensates pipeline, a 4-km onshore pipeline and associated facilities.

The two contracts are estimated have a combined value of about $100m.

Dana Gas, Exterran and NPCC could not be reached for official comments.

In November 2013, Dana Gas awarded a $17m contract to Adyard Abu Dhabi to build an offshore platform at the Zora field, which is split between the emirates of Ajman and Sharjah.

Dana Gas has earmarked an investment of $160m in the project that, at the time of the Adyard award, was expected to start up in the first half of 2015.

The scheme is a significant development for the northern emirates of the UAE, which are eclipsed by their larger neighbour Abu Dhabi in terms of oil and gas production.

Ajman and Sharjah signed an agreement in 2012 covering the shared management of the field, gas sales and purchase agreements and a joint operating agreement with the two emirates.