State-owned upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is on-track to tender its planned New Gas Sweetening Facility at Booster Station 171 in around six weeks, according to sources close to the project.

“We are expecting the invitation to bid to be issued around the end of November,” said one source.

Another source agreed that it was on track to be tendered before the end of the year:

“They are ready to tender,” they said. “Design work is complete and they have the budget. It’s ready to go.”

A total of 29 companies have prequalified to bid on the project, which has an estimated budget of $300m.

The new gas sweetening facility will be located in Al Tazizi plant in West Kuwait.

Under current plans the project comprises of construction of two trains with capacity of 60 million cubic feet a day (mcf/d) each.

The gas will be fed from gathering centres GC-17, GC-27 GC-28 and GC-16.

The scope of the work includes:

• Gas sweetening facility
• Construction of the trains
• Supporting network & interface works
• Incineration system
• Associated facilities

The companies that have prequalified to bid on the contract are:

• China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation (China)
• Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea)
• Saipem (Italy)
• SK E&C (South Korea)
• ABB (Switzerland)
• Amec Foster Wheeler (UK)
• Daelim (South Korea)
• Consolidated Contractors Company (Lebanon)
• Engineers India (India)
• KBR (US)
• Daewoo E&C (South Korea)
• Kvaerner (Norway)
• Chiyoda Corporation (Japan)
• Joannou & Paraskevaides (Cyprus)
• Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain)
• Techint (Italy)
• Petrofac (UK)
• Parsons (US)
• Technip (France)
• Entrepose Contracting (France)
• Larsen & Toubro (India)
• JGC Corporation (Japan)
• SNC Lavalin (Canada)
• GS Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• Washington Group (US)
• Air Liquide (France)
• National Petroleum Construction Company (UAE)
• Samsung Engineering (South Korea)
• Tekfen Construction (Turkey)