The prospective bidders include Paris-based Technip-Coflexip, Snamprogetti of Italy, Tebodin Middle East, part of Tebodin of the Netherlands, Worley of Australia and VECO and Howe Baker, both US-based. Snamprogetti has carried out a conceptual study for the project.

The estimated $50 million-60 million project is aimed at increasing the nameplate capacity of the two 140,000-barrel-a-day (b/d) condensate processing trains by 135,000 b/d through debottlenecking and other modifications to the existing facilities.

A tender for the FEED package is due to be issued in early April, with technical bids due to be returned by early May. The project is targeted to be completed by 2006.

Four firms - VECO and Parsons International, Foster Wheeler and Stone & Webster, all of the US- responded by mid-February to an inquiry to provide project management consultancy (PMC) services for the proposed scheme.