The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is going to launch a competition to find the most competitive and cost-effective front-end engineering and design (Feed) for an upstream project in Abu Dhabi.

Engineering contractors will be asked to participate in this ‘Feed competition’ to be organised on a pilot basis this year for the project, an executive working for Adnoc told MEED.

The official did not reveal which upstream project had been chosen for the pilot contest.

“Contractors themselves can come in with alternative proposals for the Feed. So they will bring their own technology,” the person said.

Another Adnoc executive said firms will have the opportunity to test their technologies and try out new design methodologies “that will bring in that competitive edge.”

“In the past, with regards to the Feed [for a project] we give them [contractors] all the specifications, limiting their freedom. With this approach there will be more freedom to come up with ideas that will make them competitive in bidding, and also add value to us. This is fit-for-purpose,” the second official said.

The Feed competition will not be too different from a regular tendering process. The only key difference, according to the first official, is that Adnoc will have known its baseline cost for the project’s Feed if it was tendered the regular way. This pilot initiative will enable the company to go for the lowest-cost and most promising design upon evaluation of the results.

“Once we have the bills [of pilot designs submitted by the participants] in, we will compare the Feed competition results, to see if we have lower costs, better solutions,” the first official said.

Apart from the cost-efficiency benefit, a key 2030 strategic objective for Adnoc, the success of the Feed competition will also ensure a swift execution timetable for the project, as per the other executive.

“In addition to the cost advantages, it is the speed that we will achieve. If the competitors get the Feed right, we go straight into the EPC [engineering, procurement and construction] phase. There is no bidding involved.”

Feed competition might be a new strategic element Adnoc is considering, but the concept isn’t new in the sphere of project engineering, the first executive said. “The concept of Feed competition isn’t new. It has been tried and discarded for good reasons. We are now thinking may be the time is now right, and that we have a new ecosystem of technologies, start-ups, ideas. We will not rush in to is, we will test it.”

Whether Adnoc will repeat Feed competitions in future will depend on the results of the first contest. “First we need to see if the end result is actually beneficial. We will review the Feed competition and say is it worth it to go back to it,” the first official said.