Oil majors ExxonMobil and Shell have joined TotalFinaElf in the bidding for all three major gas ventures on offer to foreign investors in Saudi Arabia, the Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) reported Monday.
The Saudi ministerial committee for the Natural Gas Initiative has made "major changes to the composition of the groups of international oil companies (IOCs) shortlisted to bid for the three Core Ventures (CVs)," said the industry weekly.
The changes follow meetings in Riyadh on February 17-18 between the ministerial team and the IOCs.
The bidding process "appears to be evolving as it goes along at a more rapid pace than originally envisaged, leaving some of the IOCs confused," said the Cyprus-based newsletter.
"It is no longer clear whether a leading company will be appointed for each CV -- as originally envisaged -- or whether the aim now is to seek bids from consortia," MEES explained.
It said the competition for contracts had increased with the entry of ExxonMobil and Shell into the race for all three ventures. Memoranda of understanding are due to be signed by the end of March or at the start of April.
The projects are in South Ghawar near Al-Hufuf in the kingdom's Eastern Province, the Red Sea, and Shaybah in the Empty Quarter of southeast Saudi Arabia.
US majors Chevron, Conoco, Enron and Occidental in a joint bid, ExxonMobil, Marathon, Phillips and Texaco have been shortlisted for the Saudi projects along with the European firms BP Amoco, Eni, Royal Dutch Shell and TotalFinaElf.
Riyadh announced in May 2000 that the oil majors had made a series of initial proposals that would inject more than 100 billion dollars into the Saudi upstream gas and downstream oil sectors.
Saudi Arabia, which sits on top of the world's biggest oil reserves, has estimated gas reserves of six trillion cubic meters (210 trillion cubic feet). It has so far ruled out foreign investment in the upstream oil sector.—AFP.
©--Agence Fance Presse 2001.
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
