State oil giant Saudi Aramco has invited engineering firms to bid for the construction of a power plant related to a natural gas liquids (NGL) project at the kingdom's Shaybah oilfield, industry sources said.

Aramco is shifting its exploration and production focus to developing gas output as it looks to meet rising domestic demand from power plants and the petrochemical industry.  

Bids for the first package of work -- a cogeneration plant -- are due on November 22, sources said. The remaining three process packages, yet to be tendered, include a gas treatment facility, an NGL recovery plant and utilities, and facilities to handle gas.

Aramco was not immediately available to comment.   

US engineering firm KBR Inc is conducting engineering and design work and provides project management services for the plant. The plant would strip out ethane, propane and natural gas liquids (NGLs) while producing around 1.4 billion cfd of gas for reinjection in the 750,000 barrels per day (bpd) oilfield.

Shaybah is one of two new gas projects Aramco announced last year. The other one is to build the kingdom's largest gas plant, Wasit, for which bidding is under way. - Reuters