Malaysia’s Petronas has retendered a deal for the construction of a power plant at the Gharraf field in the south of Iraq.

Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firms were invited in early June to submit technical and commercial bids by 2 July, according to sources close to the project.

The power plant deal was originally tendered in early December 2012. Bids had been expected in January 2013. Petronas has not indicated why the deal was retendered.

The plant will use a simple open-cycle gas turbine and electricity produced will be sent back to upstream oil production facilities. The project scope includes a 10-kilometre, 132kV transmission to take surplus electricity to the national grid at the Al-Rafaie substation, which will also require upgrades of its switchgears. Construction and commissioning is expected to take 22 months.

Petronas has opted to tender the 120-160MW power plant on a design, build and operate (BDO) basis, under which the winning firm will operate and maintain the plant for up to 10 years.

Petronas is currently evaluating bids for the construction of associated gas processing facilities at the field, which will provide the feedstock for the power plant, under the Gharraf gas-to-power scheme.

The 1 billion-barrel Gharraf field, located in the Dhi-Qar governorate in southern Iraq, was awarded to Petronas and Japan’s Japex as part of Iraq’s second oil field licensing round in December 2009.