Front end engineering design (feed) work is ongoing for Algeria’s Tinrhert Gas Field Development, according to sources close to the project.

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the project is estimated to be worth $3bn.

The winner of the EPC contract will be responsible for developing the Tinrhert gas fields, which consist of 17 separate wet gas fields.

Licenses for the site were awarded in the early 2000s.

Sonatrach, Algeria’s national oil and gas company, is planning to develop the fields in the east of the country, including Tinrhert, to meet growing domestic demand and boost exports.

Originally the Tinrhert fields were earmarked to supply a gas-to-liquids project, but this project has since been scrapped because of high costs.

The feed contract for the project was won by Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas in December 2015.

In 2014, Sonatrach said that it expected Tinrhert to produce seven billion cubic metres and come on stream in the fourth quarter of 2017, but the project has seen substantial delays.