Japanese engineering firm JGC won a $355mn contract to design and build a mid-sized gas plant for Bahrain National Gas.
The facility will recover for export liquefied petroleum gas and naphtha from associated gases released when extracting crude oil.
The plant, slated for completion by September 2018, will be about 20km south of the capital city of Manama and have a daily processing capacity of 350mn cubic feet.
JGC beat French competitor Technip as well as US-based CB&I, likely due to its extensive experience with gas processing facilities in Bahrain.
High material and labor costs had made construction more expensive in the GCC states.
But that trend was halted by the recent decline in resource prices as well as an economic slowdown.
This likely pushed the national gas company to expand its facilities. Parts makers are improving their ability to accommodate shorter timelines, which can cut costs further.
JGC is pursuing smaller projects in the Middle East and Southeast Asia as plunging crude prices dampen demand for large oil- and gas-related facilities.
