State-owned upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company is planning to tender a contract for a project focused on developing Jurassic Light Oil (JLO) export facilities and upgrading the existing export network.In a statement issued by Kuwait’s Central Agency for Public Tenders (Capt), it said that an invitation to bid will be issued after at least 30 days.The project is understood to have a budget of KD175m ($569m).This is the second time that KOC has announced that it will be imminently tendering the project contract.KOC previously made a similar announcement in April this year.KOC has not commented on the reasons for the invitation to bid on the contract having been delayed.In its original announcement, the list of prequalified bidders was made up of 15 companies:CTCI (Taiwan)Daewoo (South Korea)Fluor (US)Hyundai Engineering & Construction (South Korea)Hyundai Engineering Company (South Korea)Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea)JGC Corporation (Japan)Larsen & Toubro (India)NMDC Energy (UAE)Petrofac (UK)Saipem (Italy)Samsung Engineering Company (South Korea)Sinopec Engineering Corporation (China)Sinopec Luoyang Engineering Company (China)Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain)In its new announcement, KOC has stated that just 13 companies are prequalified.Both Hyundai Heavy Industries and NMDC Energy are no longer prequalified to bid on the project, according to the new list.The latest list in full is:CTCI (Taiwan)Daewoo (South Korea)Fluor (US)Hyundai Engineering & Construction (South Korea)Hyundai Engineering Company (South Korea)JGC Corporation (Japan)Larsen & Toubro (India)Petrofac (UK)Saipem (Italy)Samsung Engineering Company (South Korea)Sinopec Engineering Corporation (China)Sinopec Luoyang Engineering Company (China)Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain)In its latest statement, KOC said that companies that have not been included on the list can file a complaint against their non-inclusion ahead of the official invitation to bid on the project.This means that the final list of prequalified bidders could include more than 13 companies.The total value of active oil projects in Kuwait has more than doubled since the start of the year.The total value of active oil projects either in pre-execution phases or under execution rose from $7bn at the beginning of the year to more than $14.9bn at the end of July.The surge in activity comes after four years of declining oil project activity and after the change in leadership that took place in the country in December last year, when Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah became emir, taking over from his half-brother, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.Sheikh Mishal took over from his half-brother on 16 December 2023 and was formally sworn in on 20 December 2023.The value of active oil projects in Kuwait peaked on 26 February 2019 at $65.4bn before declining to a low of $5.1bn on 11 April 2023. (ICE KUWAIT)

Fonte notizia: Meed