The deadline for commercial bids was previously delayed from 16 December, according to one company planning to bid.

It follows the submission of technical bids on 7 October for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract (MEED 10:12:08).

Bids are expected to be submitted by Dubai-based Dodsal; India's Larsen & Toubro; South Korea's GS Engineering & Construction; Italy's Saipem with Lebanon's Contracting & Trading (CAT); Paris-based Technip with the local National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC); and South Korea’s SK Engineering and Construction.

The project covers the installation of three compression stations, each containing three booster compressors (MEED 11:7:08).

The work is part of the second-phase expansion of the field.

Bab has a design capacity of 420,000 barrels a day (b/d). However, with difficulties in maintaining reservoir pressure, sustainable capacity is currently 300,000 b/d.

The original tender was cancelled after two bids submitted by a German team of ILF Consulting Engineers with Siemens, and NPCC with Technip and Germany's Man, came in at up to three times the initial estimated budget of $600m (MEED 12:10:07).

Technip is the front-end engineering and design consultant.