Saudi Aramco is expected to expand in the third quarter of this year its group of offshore engineering contractors that have the exclusive right to bid for the oil giant’s offshore projects.

Aramco has also narrowed the list of companies vying for inclusion in the long-term agreement (LTA) group to eight, according to an industry source.

As many as 30 oil and gas engineering companies are understood to have expressed interest in bidding to become part of the LTA pool of contractors, which would have guaranteed them a steady stream of offshore work.

The companies that Aramco has invited to bid 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)

“Now is the time to bid for the LTA. If they [the eight firms] don’t bid now then it will be a while before there is another opportunity from Aramco,” the source told MEED.

Sapura Energy is planning to submit its bid to Aramco by May, the source added.

Lamprell had previously confirmed to MEED it is in the process of preparing and submitting its bid to Aramco.

There is however lack of clarity on how many out of the eight firms invited Aramco will select for the LTA club, and the number could be as low as just one.

The source said that Aramco is also encouraging the firms lacking on one or more aspect of the full spectrum of engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) services to form consortiums with the other invited companies to increase their chances of getting selected.

The five firms that currently form the LTA group are:

• Saipem (Italy)
• Larsen & Toubro Hydrocarbon Engineering (India)/Subsea 7 (from the UK, which acquired the Saudi Arabia unit of Singapore’s EMAS Chiyoda)
• Dynamic Industries (Saudi Arabia)
• McDermott International (USA)
• National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC - UAE)