International oil and gas contractors have submitted bids to join Saudi Aramco's long term agreement (LTA) pool of offshore contractors.

The contractors were set a final deadline of 6 June to submit their bids after Aramco twice extended the deadline from the initial closing date in April.

The firms that were shortlisted by Aramco to bid for the LTA expansion are:

• TechnipFMC (France)
• China Offshore Oil Engineering Company (COOEC – China)
• Sapura Energy (Malaysia)
• Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings (MMHE – Malaysia)
• Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI – South Korea)
• Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (South Korea)
• Lamprell (UAE)
• Dragados Offshore (Spain)
• Boskalis (Netherlands)

Aramco was expected to finalise the expansion in the third quarter, although the process is now expected to be delayed until towards the end of the year.

The LTA pool of contractors currently comprises five firms that bid for Aramco’s offshore work. The agreements are for six years and are extendable by another six years.

Aramco has already awarded billions of dollars worth of offshore jobs to its LTA contractors, and with more contracts to award, the current five are understood to be stretched to their capacities.

Broadening the LTA group will allow the client to effectively manage its pipeline of offshore work.