Chinese contractor China Petroleum Engineering Construction (CPECC) has secured a $397 million contract from Adnoc Onshore, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company for work on its South East oilfield P5 offsite facility project.

Adnoc’s P5 production enhancement plan, which also includes the South East asset, aims to increase Abu Dhabi’s crude production to 5 million bpd by 2027.

This contract involves engineering, procurement, construction and management (EPCM) for the construction, renovation and upgrading of the offsite facilities at the Asab oilfield, as well as the nearby Sahil, Shah, Qusahwira and Mender satellite oilfields, CPECC said on Tuesday.

The contractor added that the project is scheduled for completion within 45 months.

Upon completion, the project will boost output at the P5 South Wast oilfield from 630,000 barrels per per day to 762,000 bpd, according to CPECC.

CPECC's announcement confirms a recent Upstream report that tipped the Chinese player as the potential front-runner on the South East EPCM project.

Up to five leading international contracting players earlier submitted technical and commercial offers to Adnoc for the onshore expansion project.

Those said to have lost out to CPECC include Engineers India (EIL), Egypt’s ENPPI, Greek player Archirodon and Middle-East-based Kent, sources said.

The most recent EPCM project on offer is a part of Adnoc’s P5 plan and involves “off-plot” onshore facilities required at its South East asset.

Along with the South East asset expansion, Adnoc is separately executing the expansion of its North East Bab asset through a similar bidding mechanism.

Multiple tenders

The expansion of the South East and North East Bab onshore assets is being taken up by separate “on-plot” and “off-plot” development tenders.

While the “on plot” projects are being executed on an engineering, procurement and construction model, the two “off plot” developments are being tendered on an EPCM basis, Upstream understands.

CPECC is also the rumoured front-runner on one of the two EPC packages being offered by Adnoc for the South East "on plot" development, Upstream recently reported.

Adnoc’s expansion project involving the South East onshore asset aims to produce 132,000 bpd of additional oil by 2027, to achieve a total of 762,000 bpd of production from the onshore asset.

Bab contract award

CPECC last year secured a contract from Adnoc Onshore for an EPCM contract for work on the ground facilities required at the Bab and Bu Hasa oilfields, Upstream reported.

The project is being executed by CPPEC’s subsidiaries in the Middle East and Beijing, and construction is expected to last more than four years.

In addition, Adnoc extended a comparable EPCM contract to CPECC in May 2023 for Project Swing, which covers the retrofitting of existing facilities at the Bab, Northeast Bab and Southeast Bab fields.