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Contractors based in the United Arab Emirates expect an extension on bidding deadlines for some of the deals to develop the $10 billion Shah gas field project, sources at contracting companies said.
The joint venture of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) and U.S. firm ConocoPhillips, which runs the first sour gas field development in the UAE, granted contractors different bidding deadlines for each package, contractors said.
"Officially we have not been informed of any extension, bids are going on," said one contractor.
"We are expecting an extension but we are not sure they will do it or not, competition is very harsh...The project will be extended a little bit," another contractor said.
The joint venture has not received requests from bidders requesting deadlines to be deferred, Ali al-Murar, senior vice president for support services at the joint venture told Reuters.
"There's no delay, all contractors are moving according to schedule," he said when asked if the joint venture received a notification from contractors seeking an extension.
He added that the joint venture has only received bid proposals for the early work package, which are now being evaluated.
"Package 7 (sulphur handling terminal) due date is Oct. 28 so far but I am sure there will be some extension," a contractor said.
ADNOC holds a 60 percent stake in Shah, while Conoco holds the remainder. The project, which will be implemented in three phases, will process about 1 billion cubic feet per day of sour gas from 20 wells.
The project includes building facilities to gather and process the gas and sulphur.
Al-Murar said that Adnoc and Conoco plan to award the contracts early next year.
"Early next year, we will award the contracts. It differs from one package to the other as deadlines are not the same," he added.
ADNOC and Conoco identified 10 EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) packages to develop the field. The main packages and their respective due dates are as follows:
- Gas Gathering System: Dec
- Processing plant: Nov.3
- Sulphur recovery unit: Nov.3
- Pipelines: Nov. 4
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