Representatives from more than 25 engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firms have attended a meeting in Baghdad to submit their prequalification details for Iraq’s long-awaited crude oil export pipeline through Jordan.

The meeting was held on 15 June, and State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP), a subsidiary of the Oil Ministry, is expected to announce the prequalified firms by 15 July, with a tender planned for 30 July.

This could face delays as work slows in the Holy month of Ramadan, contractor sources say, and the list is unlikely to be seen until September.

According to SCOP’s schedule, bids will be submitted in stages with final priced proposals due by the middle of December. The evaluation of bids and the selection of a preferred bidder is expected to be announced by 31 December. The negotiation of the project’s contracts and financial close is planned for 2014.

The Iraq-Jordan pipeline will run from the PS-5A pumping station in Haditha in the west of Iraq to the Port of Aqaba in Jordan. Canada’s SNC Lavalin is acting as the Oil Ministry’s consultant and has drawn up the build-own, operate, transfer (BOOT) contract for the scheme.

The pipeline will connect with Iraq’s planned new 650-kilometre strategic oil pipeline from Basra in the south to Haditha, which is being built separately.