Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has received 16 bids so far from international firms for an estimated $800m deal to build an oil and gas booster station in north Kuwait.

After lengthy delays to the tender process, executives at three firms say they submitted bids to the state energy giant on 29 September. KOC prequalified 16 firms to compete for the contract, but contractors say the number of bidders was probably closer to 10.

KOC will announce which contractor bid the least for the work in October.

However, contractors do not expect an award until November or December.

The winner will supply a booster station, BS-132, with a single gas train of 250 million cubic feet a day (cf/d), including high and low pressure compressors, each with a separate gas turbine driver and a gas dehydration unit.

Booster station 132 will work in tandem with an existing booster station 131 (BS-131), drawing gas from gathering centres 15, 23, 24 and 25, and redistributing it countrywide. The station will receive the gas at a pressure of about 10 pounds per square inch (psi) and discharge it at about 925 psi.

The contract also involves enhancing booster station 131 by installing low pressure and high pressure separators and flaring systems.

KOC’s original bid deadline for the contract was 16 August, but delayed this until 13 September after KOC changed the tender documents. The state energy giant pushed back the deadline for a second time in September, after contractors asked for more time to prepare their bids.