The UK's Jacobs Consultinghas been awarded the contract to provide technology and prepare for front-end engineering and design (FEED) work on the Salalah methanol project. Three companies were competing for the work (MEED 22:4:05)

The duration of the job is about four months and a tender for the FEED contract is expected before the end of the year, with an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) tender due in 2006. Jacobs will supply Johnson Matthey technology to the plant, which will have capacity of 3,000 tonnes a day and will employ gas feedstock sourced from fields in the Salalah area.

Discussions are ongoing between prospective shareholders. When the project was first launched in February, Oman Oil Company'spartners were Abu Dhabi government-owned Mubadala Development Company, Switzerland's Vitoland the UK's GTL Resources(MEED 25:2:05).