QatarEnergy has awarded engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) contract packages worth $6 billion towards the next development phase of the offshore Al Shaheen field aimed at boosting its production capacity by about 100,000 barrels of oil per day.

The award is part of Project Ru’ya, which is the third phase of Al Shaheen’s development since North Oil Company, a joint venture between QatarEnergy (70%) and TotalEnergies (30%), took over the field’s operation in July 2017.

Under this, Project Ru’ya will see the development of more than 550 million barrels of oil within a five-year period with the first oil expected in 2027.

The project includes the drilling of more than 200 wells and the installation of a new centralised process complex, nine remote wellhead platforms, and associated pipelines.

The four EPC packages have been awarded to:

*A consortium of McDermott Middle East and Qingdao McDermott Wuchuan Offshore Engineering Company for develoment of nine wellhead platforms valued at about $2.1 billion;

*A consortium of McDermott Middle East and Hyundai Heavy Industries for a central processing platform worth $1.9 billion

*Top Indian engineering and construction conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T) for a riser platform valued at about $1.3 billion and

*China Offshore Oil Engineering Company for construction of subsea pipelines and cables valued at about $900 million.

Announcing the EPCI awards, Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, said: "With this move, we are taking an important step towards realizing the full potential of Al-Shaheen filed, which produces around half of Qatar’s crude oil today."

Located 80km offshore Qatar, Al Shaheen field 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.

Lauding the North Oil Company and its longtime strategic partner TotalEnergies for their efforts, Al Kaabi said they have played an instrumental role in unlocking the true potential of Qatar’s hydrocarbon resources and maximizing value from Al Shaheen field through the implementation of world-class development and operational excellence programmes.

A producing conventional oil field located in shallow water in Qatar, Al Shaheen currently accounts for approximately 6% of the country’s daily output.

According to experts, production at Al Shaheen will continue until the field reaches its economic limit in 2074. It has recovered 50.81% of its total recoverable reserves, with peak production expected in 2026, they added.