Workers are being mobilised to start developing Gathering Centre 30 in Kuwait, with an eye on phase one of the project being completed in September, according to an industry source.

Phase one of the project, which is key to boosting Kuwait’s hydrocarbons production, consists of foundations, civil works and preparations for mechanical works.

The workforce on site at Gathering Centre 30 will peak at 2,000 and the project is forecast to be completed in early 2017, according to the source.

India’s Larsen & Toubro won the contract, with a bid of KD239.7m ($790m) in July 2014.

The deal was one of three gathering centre contracts awarded in July 2014.

Gathering Centre 29 was awarded to the UK’s Petrofac, which bid KD194.2m, and Gathering Centre 31 was awarded to the UAE’s Dodsal Group at a price of KD228.1m.

Kuwait’s oil fields are connected to 26 gathering centres, which serve as a collection location for crude produced at several wells connected by flowlines, providing initial treatment through the separation of associated gas and removing salt.

The three new gathering centres are needed as part of Kuwait Oil Company’s (KOC) long-term strategy to develop the oil fields of North Kuwait. KOC plans to increase oil production from 760,000 barrels a day (b/d) to 1 million b/d by 2015 and maintain the production rate for at least five years.

Each gathering centre will be designed to handle up to 100,000 b/d of oil, 240,000 b/d of water and 240 million cubic feet a day (cf/d) of associated gas. KOC expects the main project to be competed in December 2018.