Early 2006 tendering for Khurais packages

12 August 2005
Saudi Aramco is understood to be targeting the release of invitation to bid (ITB) documents to contractors by early 2006 for the main packages on the estimated $5,000 million Khurais full-field development. Aramco is planning to tender the project in five separate packages and give contractors four-five months to price the work. Aramco is working with US-based Foster Wheeler and the local Sofcon- the project management consultant (PMC) for the scheme - on other major elements of the tendering strategy (MEED 15:4:05).

The largest of the packages - worth an estimated $2,000 million - will cover the construction of central processing facilities (CPFs) at Khurais and include a gas-oil separation plant (GOSP), wet crude handling vessels, gas stabilisation columns, compression and liquid separation facilities, in-field trunklines and related works. It will also entail an upgrade of support facilities at the Juaymah gas plant through the installation of steam boilers, water pumps and plant and piping facilities. The facilities will be built to handle 115 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) of gas and 120,000 barrels a day (b/d) of natural gas liquids (NGL) to be produced from the new CPF at Khurais.

Package 2 will cover the installation of seawater supply and injection facilities at Khurais and the expansion of the Qurrayah water treatment plant, aimed at supplying 2,000 b/d of treated water. The package is worth about $1,000 million. The estimated $500 million third package will include the supply and installation of pipelines for seawater intake.

Package 4, called associated pipelines, will include the supply and installation of a total of 80 kilometres of 24-28-inch-diameter pipeline at Khurais to transport crude, gas and NGL and the phase 2 expansion of the existing east/west (E/W) NGL pipeline by the installation of new pumping stations and three 14-32-inch-diameter, 340-kilometre pipelines. The package is worth $500 million. The estimated $1,000 million package 5 will include the construction of cogeneration, infrastructure, and product handling and storage facilities. It will also cover accommodation and related major civil works.

Foster Wheeler is the PMC on all major elements of the programme, except the seawater supply and injection facilities, which is being handled by a group of US-based Jacobs Engineering, Canada's SNC Lavalinand Saudi Consulting Services (SaudConsult).

Aramco is evaluating various tendering options, as a result of growing contractor risk and material price volatility. 'It may be on a LSTK [lump-sum turnkey] basis, or reimbursable. There is also an option to start off on a reimbursable basis and then roll over to LSTK,' says an industry source.

The Khurais crude increment programme aims to deliver 1.2 million b/d of Arabian light production capacity by 2009 and is one of several projects to be developed under Aramco's expansion programme, which is aimed at raising oil capacity to 12.5 million b/d by 2010. Other schemes include the phase 2 expansion of the onshore Shaybah field, which will add about 300,000 b/d of extra light crude, and the development of the Nuayyim oil field, which aims to produce about 100,000 b/d.

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