International engineering firms have completed the first round of bidding for the contract to build major new sulphur export facilities at Ruwais in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region.

The firms submitted technical proposals for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) deal to the client Abu Dhabi Gas Industries (Gasco) on 1 August. Gasco, a subsidiary of state oil firm Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) had previously pushed back the bid deadline from the original 27 July date.

The client is yet to set a cut-off date for commercial proposals, with contractors expecting to be asked to submit their prices in either late September or early October.

Firms that bid on the EPC contract include:

• Techint (Italy) and Al-Jaber Group (local)
• Dodsal (India) and Punj Lloyd (India)
• Saipem (Italy)
• Consolidated Contractors Company (Athens-based)

The contract covers the construction of a new a sulphur handling and export terminal at Ruwais, including loading and storage facilities. It will bring the port’s total sulphur capacity up to 20,000 tonnes a day.

The project is part of a series of oil and gas developments that will bring total sulphur production in the emirate up to about 7 million tonnes a year (t/y) by 2015 from 1.7 million t/y in 2008.

Under another Adnoc project, a $10bn scheme to develop the Shah gas field in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region, the company will add 10,000 tonnes a day of new sulphur production. A tender for the deal to build sulphur granulation and handling facilities at Shah will be released by the end of the year.

Gasco is also tendering an EPC contract covering new sulphur handling facilities at Habshan. They will be used to form and granulate sulphur produced through existing facilities and Adnoc’s new integrated gas development from 2014, which will add 700 million cubic feet a day of gas containing 4.5-7.2 per cent of sulphur. EPC contracts for the $10bn scheme were awarded in 2009.

Gasco has set 17 August and 28 September as technical and commercial deadlines for the deal.