State-owned Qatargas has awarded local contractor Qcon the off plot and the central compression area engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) packages for the jetty boil off project in Ras Laffan.

Contractors have also submitted technical bids for the instruments, mechanical and telecommunications package, the fifth and final main EPC package.

“Technical evaluations are under way right now. We’re probably six to eight weeks away from awarding the contract. The target is to award at the beginning of May, and I think we should be okay with that,” says a source close to the project.

Bidders for the tender are believed to be similar to the off plot and central compression area contracts, and include local companies Qcon and Medgulf, as well as Pakistan’s Descon and India’s Punj Lloyd.

The boil off gas recovery project will recover gas from liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers in Ras Laffan port and convert it back to LNG. Qatargas aims to recover the equivalent of some 600,000 tonnes a year (t/y) of LNG.

Construction work has already started on the first two EPC packages. One of the packages encompasses front-site preparation and piling work, which is about 60 per cent complete. The other package covers the construction of a breakwater causeway.

The US Flour is undertaking the engineering, procurement, construction and management work. The company expects to complete the project ahead of schedule by the end of 2013.