State-owned downstream operator Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) is meeting with contractors on 11 February to discuss spending on package five of the Al-Zour New Refinery Project.

Contractors have been told that the subject of the meeting will be resolving problems connected to the difference between the value of bids and the value of the project’s budget.

The budget for the package is $850m, but the lowest bid came in at almost twice this amount.

The full list of bids is:

• Hyundai E&C / Saipem / Essar, KD454m ($1.55bn)
• GS Engineering and Construction (South Korea), KD459m
• Daelim Industrial (South Korea), KD720m

The contract is scheduled to be awarded in early May, but insiders are expecting there may be delays due to the low bid coming in at nearly double the estimated budget.

The winner of the contract will be responsible for construction of a harbour, including a sulphur pelletising and conveying system, subsea outfall lines and an offshore island capable of birthing tankers.

Earlier this month, the bid deadline for the Al-Zour New Refinery Project packages one, two and three was extended until 10 March.

The Al-Zour scheme is one of several Kuwaiti oil and gas projects that have seen delays during the tendering process over recent weeks.

Others include Kuwait Oil Company’s (KOC) $300m Main Pipeline Manifold Gathering System project and KNPC’s project to build a fifth gas fractionation train at the Mina al-Ahmadi refinery.