Upstream state operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is preparing to tender a KD200m ($706m) engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a manifold connected to planned gathering centres 29, 30 and 31 in the North Kuwait Operations Zone.

The tender will be issued in one to two weeks according to an in industry source with knowledge of the plans.

The project is a Manifold Group Trunkline (MGT) and forms a complementary part of the gathering centre project. The EPC contracts for the three gathering centres were signed at the beginning of the month.

Kuwait’s oil fields are connected to 26 gathering centres, which serve as a collection location for crude produced at several wells connected by flowlines, providing initial treatment through the separation of associated gas and removing salt.

The three new gathering centres are part of KOC’s long-term strategy to develop the oil fields of North Kuwait. KOC is planning to increase oil production from 760,000 barrels a day (b/d) to 1 million b/d by 2015 and maintain the production rate for at least five years.