Norway's StatoilHydro, Spain's Repsol and Denmark's Maersk are preparing a joint bid to build an oil processing plant at Iraq's West Qurna oilfield, according to a source close to the matter.

Bids for the 50,000-barrel-per-day plant at one of Iraq's biggest oilfields must be received by April 23, according to the tender documents.

The source said on Friday the three European oil and gas companies were discussing making a joint bid for the services contract but had not yet made a decision whether to go ahead.

Spokespeople for Statoil, Maersk and Repsol declined to comment on specific bids for Iraqi oil projects.

West Qurna, with estimated reserves of around 8.682 billion barrels of crude oil, is producing around 300,000 barrels per day of crude. The field has a nameplate capacity of 400,000 bpd and an estimated production potential of 650,000 bpd.-Reuters