Under the contract, whose value has not been disclosed, NPCC will carry out engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation and commissioning of four wellhead platforms, 19 associated subsea pipelines of various lengths and diameters and three subsea umbilicals. The new units, due to be commissioned in late July 2005, will be tied into existing facilities in the field.

The phase-2 north dome agreement called for 144 million barrels of oil reserves to be developed, which will increase production to 127,000 barrels a day (b/d) by 2006. Total capital investment costs are estimated at $566 million. Idd al-Shargi north is operated by OPQL under a development and production sharing agreement (DPSA) signed with QP in 1994. Output at the field hit a historical high in June 1998: production capacity has recently been running at about 90,000 b/d.