Contractors prepare for two Iraq oil tenders
16 June 2025
Contractors are preparing for two strategic upstream oil tenders in Iraq, for which bids are due in July and August this year.
The invitations to bid for both contracts have been issued by an Iraqi subsidiary of Beijing-headquartered PetroChina.
The first tender is focused on upgrading a central processing facility (CPF) in Iraq’s Halfaya oil field.
The project uses the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract model and will upgrade a facility known as CPF3.
Bids for this contract are due to be submitted on 2 July 2025.
The project’s scope includes:
- CPF3 oil system upgrade
- Utility facilities
- Piping
- Power supply and distribution
- Instrumentation and control
- Telecommunication
- Architecture and structure
- Heating, ventilation and air conditioning
- Other associated works
The main units that will be installed as part of the project include:
- Three first-stage separators
- Heat exchangers
- Four second-stage separators
- Four heater packages
- Four dehydration pumps
- Four chemical injection skids
- A corrosion inhibitor
- Two scale inhibitors
- A demulsifier
- A produced water air cooler
- An instrument and nitrogen system
The second contract that has been tendered is focused on a utility system upgrade for the facility known as CPF2.
This contract also used the EPCC format and the bids are due to be submitted by 10 August 2025.
The scope of work for the project includes:
- Fresh water system modification
- Oily water transfer facilities
- A 3. 20” crude oil header replacement
- Power plant fuel gas system upgrade
- A new wet gas line from CPF1 to CPF2
- A high-pressure fuel gas connection line
- Backup cable installation
The scope of work for this project includes adding process and utility facilities and providing civil, structural and architectural services.
It also includes the addition of a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, piping, power supply and distribution infrastructure, instrumentation and anti-corrosion systems.
Halfaya is located in the Maysan Governorate in southeastern Iraq and is one of seven giant oil fields in the country.
The field is operated by a partnership led by PetroChina, a subsidiary of CNPC. The partnership also includes France’s Total, Iraq’s state-owned South Oil Company and Malaysia’s Petronas.
Projects to develop the Halfaya gas field have seen significant delays in recent years. Halfaya is the Maysan province’s largest field, with estimated reserves of 4.1 billion barrels.
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Contractors submit bids for Taziz’s Project Salt
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Contractors have submitted technical bids to Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) for a project to build a cluster of three chemicals-producing plants in the Taziz Industrial Chemicals Zone in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.
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Reliance is understood to have pulled out of Project Salt and has been replaced by France-based Kem One, MEED previously reported.
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Drone strikes damage Iraq oil infrastructure
16 July 2025
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An oil field operated by US-based HKN Energy in Duhok Province in Iraq's semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan was set on fire after being hit by a drone missile, heightening concerns about security in the region.
HKN Energy issued a statement saying it had stopped production at the Sarsang oil field after the attack. No casualties have been reported.
The attack on the Sarsang field, which took place early in the morning on 15 July, was the latest in a series of similar attacks launched recently against oil facilities in Iraqi Kurdistan. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The attack took place on the same day that HKN Energy announced it had signed a preliminary agreement with Iraq’s Oil Ministry to develop the Himreen oil field in northern Iraq.
HKN Energy is a private US oil and gas company, owned by Hillwood Energy – part of the Hillwood group, which was founded by real estate developer and businessman Ross Perot Jr. The company is active in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The attack on the Sarsang oil field occurred less than 24 hours after a drone attack on the Khurmala oil field in Iraq's Erbil Province.
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Oman recovers investment-grade credit rating
16 July 2025
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Oman’s credit rating has returned to investment grade by the reckoning of two of the three main credit ratings agencies, after Moody’s upgraded its rating earlier in July, following a similar move by S&P last September.
Moody’s upgraded Oman’s credit rating from Ba1 to Baa3 with a stable outlook in July 2025, becoming the second ratings agency to raise the status of Oman's sovereign credit rating back into investment-grade range.
S&P upgraded Oman’s rating from BB+ to BBB- with a stable outlook in September 2024, in the first promotion of the sovereign back to investment grade after seven years in junk territory due to a decline in oil revenues owing to low prices and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The combined upgrade by both agencies makes Oman’s investment-grade status the majority opinion. Fitch, meanwhile, affirmed its BB+ rating for Oman in December 2024, but also significantly changed the sultanate’s outlook from stable to positive.
Moody’s, for its part, cited structural reforms and strengthened macroeconomic fundamentals and fiscal indicators – most critically, the country’s reduced public debt as a result of Muscat’s lower public spending and return to a 2.8% fiscal surplus.
The twin upgrade from S&P and Moody’s, together with the positive assessment from Fitch, should serve to lower the cost of borrowing for Oman, including by potentially allowing it to restructure existing debt and lower its interest payments moving forward.
Another significant part of Muscat’s recent structural reforms was the consolidation of state-owned entities operating under the Oman Investment Authority (OIA), and the 19.3% reduction in the aggregated debt associated with OIA assets.
The effective restructuring of debts among OIA holdings, alongside the reduction of government guarantees on loans for major companies, including state energy comglomerate OQ, Asyad and Nama – and the halting of new guarantees – all served to improve Muscat’s credit standing.
The structural reform programme continues in Oman, which in its latest major economic policy development, announced the planned introduction of 5% income tax in the country in 2028.
Such ongoing measures are in line with Muscat’s heightened need to wean itself off a boom-bust spending cycle linked to oil prices and instead diversify its government tax and revenue base to fund public spending on a more sustainable basis.
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> AGENDA: UAE-Turkiye trade gains momentum> INTERVIEW 1: Building on UAE-Turkiye trade> INTERVIEW 2: Turkiye's Kalyon goes global> INTERVIEW 3: Strengthening UAE-Turkiye financial links> INTERVIEW 4: Turkish Airlines plans further growth> CURRENT AFFAIRS: Middle East tensions could reduce gas investments> GCC REAL ESTATE: Gulf real estate faces a more nuanced reality> PROJECTS MARKET: GCC projects market collapses> INTERVIEW 5: Hassan Allam eyes role in Saudi Arabia’s transformation> INTERVIEW 6: Aseer region seeks new investments for Saudi Arabia> LEADERSHIP: Nuclear power makes a global comeback> LEVANT MARKET FOCUS: Levant states wrestle regional pressures> GULF PROJECTS INDEX: Gulf projects index continues climb> CONTRACT AWARDS: Mena contract award activity remains subdued> ECONOMIC DATA: Data drives regional projects> OPINION: A farcical tragedy that no one can endTo see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click herehttps://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14266992/main.jpg