QatarEnergy has awarded four main engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) contract packages amounting to US$6.2 billion for the next development phase of the offshore Al-Shaheen oil field.

North Oil Company, a joint venture between QatarEnergy (70%) and TotalEnergies (30%), took over the field’s operation in July 2017. Al-Shaheen is Qatar’s largest oil field, with the third phase of development expected to increase production by about 100,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).

The US$2.1 billion EPC package for nine wellhead platforms has been awarded to a consortium of McDermott Middle East and Qingdao McDermott Wuchuan Offshore Engineering.

The contract for a central processing platform valued at about US$1.9 billion has been awarded to a consortium of McDermott Middle East and Hyundai Heavy Industries.

The EPC package for subsea pipelines and cables valued at about US$900 million has been awarded to China Offshore Oil Engineering Co (COOEC).

The package for a riser platform valued at about US$1.3 billion has been awarded to Chennai, India-based Larsen & Toubro Limited.

Under its Project Ruya, Qatar will develop more than 550 million barrels of oil. The various phases will be executed over a period of five years, with first oil expected in 2027. The project includes the drilling of more than 200 wells and the installation of a new centralized process complex, nine remote wellhead platforms, and associated pipelines.

“By awarding these contracts, we are taking an important step towards realizing the full potential of Al-Shaheen field, which produces around half of Qatar’s crude oil today," says Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, minister of state for energy affairs, and president and chief executive officer of QatarEnergy.

Commercial production

Al-Shaheen, located 80 kilometres offshore Qatar, is among the world’s largest in terms of “oil in place”. The field commenced commercial production in 1994, and underwent significant development to reach an oil production rate of 300,000 bpd in 2007.

The Package 11 mega contract, awarded to the consortium of McDermott and Qingdao McDermott Wuchuan, includes the installation of nine satellite wellhead platforms and jackets in two offshore campaigns, according to McDermott.

The contract awarded to the consortium of McDermott and Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) is for the EPCI and commissioning of a 25,000 metric tonne central processing platform, a flare platform and bridges.

“These awards build on our successful execution of the front-end engineering design (FEED) project – one of the largest FEEDs in McDermott’s 100-year history – completed in just over 12 months,” says Mike Sutherland, McDermott’s senior vice-president, offshore Middle East.