At least 10 companies are preparing to bid for a gas processing plant contract tendered by Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) in the north of the sultanate.

PDO has asked interested companies to submit technical bids for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract on phase 2 of its Saih Rawl depletion compression project.

The 10 prequalified contractors expected to bid for the contract are:

• ABB (Switzerland)
• Consolidated Contractors Company (Athens, Greece)
• Dodsal (UAE)
• GS Engineering (South Korea)
• Larsen & Toubro (India)
• National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC)
• Petrofac (UK)
• Samsung Engineering (South Korea)
• Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain)
• Technip (France)

PDO has delayed the deadline for EPC bids to 19 May from a previous cut-off date of 5 May as the technical clarifications have not been completed yet, according to a source close to the bidding process.

PDO estimates the budget of the project at more than $200m, with sources indicating that it could be more than $450m, depending on the confirmed scope of the work.

The project aims to sustain the production capacity of PDO’s Saih Rawl field as the reservoir pressure declines over time. The field, located in the Ash-Sharqiyah region, is primarily used to feed the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry, but also functions as a backup when other plants are shut down for maintenance.

PDO is 60 per cent owned by the Oman government, with minority stakes held by the UK/Dutch Shell Group (34 per cent), France’s Total (4 per cent) and Portugal-based Partex (2 per cent).