Four international offshore engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors submitted bids earlier this month for a major new project to maintain Qatar’s gas production levels at its giant North Field.

Known as the North Field Sustainability Project, the scheme is understood to be worth more than $1bn. The bidders include Italy’s Saipem, France’s TechnipFMC, US-based McDermott and Sapura Energy of Malaysia, although this could not be confirmed with all four.

The project involves the fabrication and installation of several new wellhead platforms, offshore jackets and drilling decks, along with other facilities in the southern portion of the field.

These will help maintain gas output from the field as Qatar prepares for its first major gas expansion in years, with an extensive drilling campaign planned for next year.

State-owned Qatar Petroleum (QP), is the largest shareholder in Qatargas, operates the field. QP chief executive Saad al-Kaabi announced in September that it would add a fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) train to its expansion programme, in a bid to raise export capacity to 110 million tonnes a year (t/y).

Qatar is already the world's largest LNG producer with a capacity of 77 million metric tonnes a year (mt/y).

An earlier plan, announced last summer called for three LNG trains to raise capacity to 100 million tonnes a year, but this has now been increased to four trains. The front-end engineering and design (feed) for the project is expected to be completed by Japanese engineers Chiyoda by next March, before EPC tenders for the new trains will be launched.

QP has invited bids for contracts to build between 70 and 100 new rigs and equipment to produce gas from the North Field to supply the expansion. No final budget has been announced for the project.

The expansion plans were announced after QP ended a 12-year long moratorium on new gas projects while it assessed the stability of the North Field.

As well as producing huge new volumes of LNG, ethane gas extracted from the field will also feed a new giant petrochemicals plant. QP hopes to conclude discussions with international oil and petrochemicals companies to select a partner by the end of the year.

The planned complex, which is slated for completion in 2025, will include an ethane cracker with a capacity to produce 1.6 million t/y along with derivative plants.