State-upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has awarded the US’ Weatherford a $100m contract to supply and install a pumping system at the Lower Fars Test project (LFTP) in the north of the country.

The KD27.4m deal, signed on 30 March covers surface & subsurface equipment related to progressive cavity pump systems and the design, procurement, supply and construction, installation, testing and commissioning at test facilities for cold heavy oil with sand in the Lower Fars reservoir.

In September 2010, KOC launched a tender for studies to develop heavy oil sands, the first attempt to use the technique in the region. The study, which involves building a test facility, is the precursor to substantial increases in heavy oil production in the country.

The winning contractor will design, build and operate a plant for five years, producing heavy oil with sand at wells in the Ratqa oil fields, although only in small quantities – between 10 to 50 barrels a day (b/d). The test period will be carried out in two phases lasting a total of 42 months.

The LFTP was first launched in 2007, a landmark development in the Gulf’s oil industry exploring the potential of removing solids – primarily sand – from heavy oil in the northern Ratqa field using several technologies. Kuwait is planning to produce between 250,000 b/d to 270,000 b/d of heavy oil from its northern fields as a ‘gap-filler’ to ensure Kuwait reaches its 2020 target of 4 million b/d, since it is much more expensive to exploit than conventional oil reserves (MEED 3:12:10).