Dubai Petroleum Enterprise (DPE) has set a 1 June deadline for bids on a contract to develop the emirate’s newly discovered Al-Jalila oil field.

The engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning (EPIC) contract covers a basic unmanned offshore production platform with a single compressor unit and about 12 kilometres of flowlines to transport oil produced at the field to DPE’s onshore processing and distribution facilities.

The contract should be awarded early in the third quarter, sources say.

MEED reported in April that DPE had tendered the deal, following the 4 February announcement of the field’s discovery (MEED 26:4:10).

Engineering executives with knowledge of the project value the contract at about $50-100m.

Contractors approached by Dubai Petroleum are understood to include Paris-based Technip, Dubai-based J Ray McDermott, and Abu Dhabi-based National Petroleum Construction Company.

The discovery was made to the east of the existing Rashid field, Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said in a statement in February. The ruler’s office declined to comment on the size of the new field, potential output or a timeline for its development.

Sources with knowledge of the project estimate that it will produce around 5,000-10,000 barrels a day (b/d) of oil.