France’s GDF Suez and the Algerian state-owned energy firm Sonatrach have invited companies to prequalify to bid for a contract to build gas processing facilities in the North African state.

The invitation has been opened to both domestic and international engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contractors and is for the gas processing and production facilities at the Touat gas project in southwest Algeria.

In a tender document obtained by MEED, the two companies said that the invitation concerns “only companies specialised in the realisation of large scale onshore gas processing plants in desert conditions and under EPCC conditions”.

Companies have until 30 January to submit prequalification documents.

A Middle East-based contracting source tells MEED that the contract will be of significant value due to the fact that peak production at the Touat gas fields to reach 4.5 billion cubic metres of gas a year.

“I wouldn’t like to speculate on the exact cost, but it will run into hundreds of millions of dollars for a plant of that size,” the source says.  

Sonatrach and GDF Suez will jointly develop the Touat field with the French company committed to investing around $1.5bn in the project.

Around 40 production wells will be drilled in 10 separate fields in a three square kilometre area.