Iraq seeks project manager for Nasiriyah Integrated Project

18 August 2013

Oil Ministry plans to develop Nasiriyah oil field and refinery together

Iraq’s Oil Ministry has asked international engineering firms to express their interest in the management of its planned $13bn project to jointly develop the Nasiriyah oil field and a new grassroot refinery in the south of the country.

The Oil Ministry’s Petroleum Contracts & Licensing Directorate (PCLD) has set a deadline of 30 August for document submission.

Tenders will be issued by the PCLD on 30 September, with proposals due by 30 November. The Oil Ministry expects to award the contract, or at least have an indication of the prospective winner in early 2014.

According to the prequalification questionnaire seen by MEED, state-owned South Oil Company (SOC) “intends the multi-year engagement of a project management consultant (PMC) to provide a comprehensive range of support activities in overseeing both upstream and downstream construction and operations”.

The contract could last more than 25 years, according to the document, although the critical period of engagement will be in the first several years, during which the field is developed and the refinery built and commissioned. The nature of the engagement once the refinery is fully operational will be subject to consideration at the time.

The winning firm will initially evaluate plans and proposed changes submitted by the refinery’s eventual engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor. It will make recommendations to the Oil Ministry whether to accept or reject the new proposals. US engineering firm Foster Wheeler completed the front-end engineering and design (feed) for the 300,000-barrel-a-day (b/d) refinery in 2010.

The PMC firm will also evaluate technical and cost proposals for facilities not covered by the Foster Wheeler design, and advise the Oil Ministry on the selection of an EPC contractor.

On 8 August, the Oil Ministry added five more companies to its prequalified contractor list, which has now grown to 13 firms. The Oil Ministry plans to host a bid round for the Nasiriyah Integrated Project on 19 December. A draft contract was issued in July, and a final workshop will be held in September before a final draft contract is published in October and final tender protocol in mid-November.

Prequalified firms for Nasiriyah Integrated Project
Company/consortiumOriginUpstream/downstream participation
ZarubezhneftRussiaUpstream and downstream
China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)ChinaDownstream only
Brown Energy GroupUSDownstream only
Reliance IndustriesIndiaUpstream and downstream
LukoilRussiaDownstream only
TotalFranceDownstream only
JGC & Tonen General GroupJapanUpstream and downstream
Maurel & PromFranceUpstream
RosneftRussiaUpstream and downstream
EssarIndiaDownstream
GS Engineering & ConstructionSouth KoreaDownstream
ONGCIndiaDownstream
Source: PCLD  

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