SNC-Lavalin & KBR lead Aramco gas contracts race

While SNC-Lavalin are believed to have submitted the two lowest bids Reuters quoted a Saudi-based contractor as saying that it would be highly unlikely that a single contractor would be awarded both jobs.

KBR has confirmed that it is only bidding for the larger Shaybah project and it is widely believed that the US-based company will be awarded the contract.

“It’s pretty much final, your information is correct,” Reuters quoted one contractor as saying when he was asked if SNC Lavalin and KBR would be selected.

The Shaybah gas project will involve the construction of a new natural gas liquids (NGL) recovery facility and a debottlenecking gas-oil separation plant. The work is part of the US$3 billion expansion currently being carried out at the huge onshore oil field located in the Empty Quarter of the KSA.

The Manifa contract covers the construction of a gas processing plant that will be supplied with gas from the non-associated offshore fields Arabiyah and Hasbah. Both fields were recently discovered by the company and are close to the Manifa field.

Arabiyah and Hasbah have been fast-tracked due to the KSA’s souring domestic demand for natural gas. The Kingdom’s massive expansion of petrochemical, desalination and power generation facilities has meant that the country’s gas requirements have never been higher.

The other contractors bidding for the work are Jacobs Engineering, Technip, Foster Wheeler, Fluor and Worley Parsons.