The Milan-based contractor was widely expected to win the lump-sum engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract after submitting the lowest bid for the work in November. The firm saw off competition from five other international contractors (MEED 9:11:07). A formal signing of the contract is expected soon.

The work covers the construction of a new booster station in southeast Kuwait, consisting of two identical single-stage compression trains, delivering 249 million cubic feet a day of sour gas from gathering centres 3, 4, 6, 7 and 21.

The scheme also involves the installation of a rich gas chilling system, a gas and condensate dehydration plant, and scrubbers on the main feed line.

Snamprogetti’s selection is the first time in more than two years that a non-South Korean contractor has won a major oil and gas EPC contract in Kuwait.

The firm has good experience of booster station work in Kuwait. In 2001, it won the KD38.9m contract to build gas booster station 130/131 in the north (MEED 10:8:01).

It is also the low bidder, with a price of KD320m, for the project to build effluent water injection facilities at two northern oil fields, although the bid is considerably above KOC’s initial budget estimate (MEED 16:5:08).