Saudi Aramco has received the bids for the front-end engineering and design (feed) contract for its planned development of shale gas at three locations in Saudi Arabia.

MEED reported in October that the tender was being released by the national oil company after deciding that it wanted to fast-track the development of the unconventional resource in the kingdom.

Aramco invited bids for design work for gas treatment facilities and all accompanying offsites and utilities in three different locations of Saudi Arabia.

The locations are:

• The Empty Quarter
• South Ghawar in the Eastern Province
• Jafurah in the northern desert region.

The first shale gas scheme in the Middle East, Aramco is fast-tracking the development of its resources by about seven years, as the kingdom’s insatiable demand for gas continued. A study was completed in July 2013 and now a design tender is ready to be released.

The tenders will now be put under evaluation and a decision is expected by March 2014. A tender for the engineering, procurement and construction contracts (EPC) is now expected for late 2014/early 2015.

The bidders include:

• Fluor (US)
• Foster Wheeler (US)
• Jacobs Engineering (US)
• KBR (US)
• Mustang Engineering (US)
• SNC Lavalin (Canada)
• WorleyParsons (Australia)

The exact scope of works will not be known until the full feed is completed. The work is expected to be done both in-kingdom and out of kingdom (IK/OOK).

The man-hours expected for the whole scheme are expected to be between 800,000 and 1 million.

Further evidence of Aramco ramping up its unconventional gas operations is that the company made enquiries with rig manufacturers regarding buying or leasing as many as 40 rigs that would be used in shale gas production.

Seismic surveys have been carried out on shale gas formations across Saudi Arabia. MEED also reported in 2012 that US oil field services companies Halliburton and Schlumberger conducted feasibility studies for potential production in the northern regions of the kingdom, close to the Iraq and Jordanian borders.

A Saudi Aramco spokesman declined to comment on the scheme, stating that the company “do[es] not comment on any ongoing project bidding process”.