Qatar Petroleum (QP) has invited bids from contractors for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract covering the QR728.4 million ($200 million) gas sweetening facilities integrated project at Mesaieed.

At least seven contractors are said to have prequalified to bid, including the US group Black & Veatch, Italy's Saipem, Athens-based Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC), France's Technip, the UK's Petrofac, India's Larsen & Toubro and Argentina's Tecna.

The bids are due to be submitted in February 2009, with the awarding of the contract expected by the second quarter of the year, said a source.

The project will entail the construction of a new acid gas removal unit, an amine sweetening plant, rehabilitation of the sulphur recovery unit, and the supply and installation of compressors and a flared gas system.

The plant will have capacity to process about 750 million cu ft per day of gas, which will primarily be used as feedstock for petrochemicals projects planned for Mesaieed.

Australia's WorleyParsons beat the US-based Mustang Engineering to win the front-end engineering and design contract in 2007.-TradeArabia News Service