Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has extended the deadline to submit bids for the contract to build its $1.65bn Gathering Centre (GC) 32 in the southeastern Burgan field by three weeks.

The deadline is 20 December, revised from 29 November.

The project, which aims to deal with the increasing crude sourness from the Burgan field, is one of several gathering centres that are being built to support KOC’s plans to increase oil production. Kuwait aims to pump 4 million barrels a day by 2020.

The following companies have prequalified and are expected to submit bids:

• Daelim (South Korea)
• GS Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• JGC Corporation (Japan)
• Petrofac (UK)
• Samsung Engineering (South Korea)
• SK Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain)

The optional consortium companies are:

• Aker Kvaerner (Norway)
• Chiyoda Corporation (Japan)
• China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation
• Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC; Lebanon)
• Daewoo Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea)
• KBR (US)
• Larsen & Toubro (India)
• Air Liquide (formely known as JJ-Lurgi)
• Saipem (Italy)
• SNC Lavalin (Canada)

GC-32 will process crude and associated gas produced from the Arifjan, Marat, Minagish Oolite and Burgan Wara fields. The sour export crude will be pumped to the South Tank Farm P-header or the Ahmadi Distribution Manifold (ADM) with a further tie-in to the 36-inch Ratawi-Burgan pipeline.