The US’ Occidental Petroleum Corporation (Oxy) is planning to release the majority of tenders for its phase 5 expansion at the Idd el-Shargi North Dome field in Qatar in early 2014.

Oxy has been operating the offshore oil field since it signed a production-sharing agreement with Qatar Petroleum (QP) in 1994. The new expansion is expected to sustain the current production of 100,000 barrels a day (b/d) for the next six years.

The scheme is expected to be split into six packages. They are:

• Halul Island facilities upgrade
• Process platforms
• Two wellhead platforms and 12 wells
• 40-kilometre (km) pipeline
• 40km flowline
• Living quarters accommodating 206 beds

“This project has been in the pipeline for at least five years now and the fact that it is set to proceed is a good indication of the importance Doha is now putting on increasing or prolonging its oil assets,” says an oil and gas source based in Qatar. “I expect this will be the start of a major rehabilitation of many domestic oil operations.”

The tender for the Abu Island facilities is expected to be released before the end of 2013, but the rest of the packages will be sent to contractors in the first and second quarters of 2014. Oxy has set aside a budget of up to $3bn to carry out the work on the field.  

MEED reported in August that Oxy was prequalifying contractors for the field upgrade.

The scope of work will include drilling 200 wells for production, water injection and water source wells, the construction of new platforms and jackets, and the installation of fluid processing equipment. Pipeline debottlenecking and water source schemes will be executed and several enhanced oil recovery (EOR) programmes will be initiated.

The Idd el-Shargi North Dome field has been in production since 1963 and output had declined to 20,000 b/d by 1994. Oxy raised production to 140,000 b/d, but this has now levelled off at 100,000 b/d.