The invitees include Athens-based Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC), Nasser al-Hajri Corporation of Saudi Arabia, Tekfen and Gama, both of Turkey, Pakistan's Descon Engineering, and Dodsal and Al-Jaber Energy Services, both UAE-based.

The fresh tender was issued after revised commercial bids were submitted in February for two major MEI and civils packages - called MC 1 and MC 2 - by the same six contractors following a 90-day reduction in the construction period to 36 months.

The new subcontracts are: CM 1A, which covers the GTL and HPS area; CM 2A, for the utility and power generation area; CM 1B, for the GTL feed gas preparation area; CM 2B, for the utility flare area; IE 1, for the GTL plant; and EI 2 for the utility and flares. The client is a team of Japan's JGC Corporation and the US' Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), which is providing engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services for the synthesis core, utilities and infrastructure packages on the project.

The client on Pearl GTL is the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, which recently awarded the first two construction packages on the integrated GTL project. The project centres on the construction of a 140,000-barrel-a-day GTL plant, which will use 1,600 million cubic feet a day of gas from the North field.