India’s Dodsal has secured its first contract award in Iraq, winning an estimated $100m deal to build a crude oil pipeline connecting the Majnoon field in the south of Iraq to oil depots at the Fao port on the Gulf coast.

The 32-inch diameter, 74-kilometre pipeline forms part of the first phase of development at the12.58 billion barrel oil field, which is expected to be completed in 2012, according to a source close to the project.

Dodsal beat rival proposals from India’s Punj Lloyd and Italy’s Saipem among others when bids were submitted in February 2011

The Majnoon field is being developed by UK/Dutch oil major Shell, in consortium with Malaysia’s Petronas. The partners were awarded the technical service contract to develop the field in Iraq’s second oil field licensing round in 2009 after agreeing to increase production to 1.8 million barrels a day (b/d) from approximately 50,000 b/d currently. In return they will receive a remuneration fee of $1.39 for each additional barrel.

In April this year, the UK’s Petrofac won a $240m order from Shell to install early production infrastructure and upgrade existing facilities at the field.

The first phase of the expansion is scheduled between middle of 2011 and December 2012, and aims to produce 175,000 b/d. This will then rise to reach the targeted 1.8 million b/d between 2012 and 2017.

Shell expects to spend between $12-15bn on subsurface work and $15bn on facilities to develop the Majnoon field.

Dodsal is among 20 firms, which submitted bids in late May for a similar deal to build an estimated $150m gas pipeline from the Zubair field to Fao tendered in January by state-owned South Oil Company (MEED 24:5:11).