Zakum Development Company (Zadco) is pushing ahead with its estimated $500m development plans for the offshore Satah oilfield in Abu Dhabi and plans to have tendered all three of the main construction contracts on the project by May.

Under Zadco’s plans, the project will see gas produced by the company injected into the Satah field to boost production to about 25,000 barrels a day (b/d) from currently undisclosed production levels (MEED 21:10:09).

Sources close to the project tell MEED that Zadco sent out an invitation to bid on a $150-200m engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) deal to build new produced water facilities at the field in early April and that the tender for the main construction contract to build offshore facilities, and upgrade existing facilities and pipelines will be issued in the first week of May.

The water facilities will separate crude oil from water produced by reservoir before transporting both to processing facilities at Zirku Island using an existing 58-kilometre main oil pipeline.

The main EPC deal comprises both offshore and onshore engineering, as well as construction work, and is worth $250-300m. The winning bidder will have to build a series of underwater pipelines and upgrade existing offshore platforms at the field.

The winner will also have to build new gas processing facilities at Zadco’s operating base on the nearby Zirku island, including gas-injection compressors and flare gas recovery facilities.

Meanwhile, five engineering firms submitted technical bids for the project management consultancy (PMC) deal to oversee the EPC contractors in time for a February deadline, and expect to be asked to submit final commercial bids in early may. The bidding firms are:

• Mott McDonald (UK)
• Amec (UK)
• Veco (US/Canada)
• SNC Lavalin (Canada)
• Aker Solutions (Norway)

Zadco wants to award all the contracts on the scheme by October and to have completed construction work by the end of 2013.