Saudi Aramco has invited companies to bid for a contract to upgrade the water injection system at the Manifa oil field in eastern Saudi Arabia.

Scope for the project includes the installation of a 42 inch subsea pipeline and a 42 inch onshore pipeline, according to a tender document that was issued by Aramco on 28 August.

It also includes the installation 20 inch lateral lines, the installation of biocide skids at drill sites and at the Manifa central processing facility, and the installation of a corrosion inhibition unit.

The date for the bid submission is 20 September 2017.

Aramco is aiming to complete the project by 31 March 2019, according to a timeline released as part of the tender document.

According to industry sources companies that prequalified for the project include:

• Larsen & Toubro (India)
• Gulf Consolidated Contractors Company (Saudi Arabia)
• Hyundai E&C (South Korea)

 Hyundai E&C has declined to bid on the project, according to one source.

The six-reservoir Manifa oil field measures about 45 kilometers in length and 18 km in width. It lies both onshore and offshore under a relatively shallow 15 meters of water.

It was first discoved in 1957 and was brought onstream in 1964.

Manifa is one of Aramco’s biggest fields and has a production capacity of 900,000 barrels a day (b/d).

In July International Oil Daily stated that the Manifa oilfield had been hit by a technical problem that would impact production output.

Sadad al-Husseini, a former executive vice president at Saudi Aramco said that the site was suffering from corrosion problems in the water injection system.

“Corrosion control in the water injection system is not a technical challenge but it can be expensive to repair the water injection lines,” he said.