Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is continuing negotiations with the two shortlisted bidders for the contract to develop a seawater treatment plant and transmission pipeline in Mirfa as part of Adnoc's Project Wave.

MEED reported on 20 March that the client had selected a team comprising Spain's Cobra Instalaciones, Egypt's Orascom and Metito for the contract.

Adnoc has now resumed negotiations with the selected team and the other team comprising France's Veolia and Saudi Arabia's Vision International, MEED reported in early April.

The alleged departure of Cobra, along with engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor Tedagua, from the consortium shortly after it was notified as being the low bidder for the contract is understood to have prompted the resumption of negotiations with both teams.

Industry sources previously told MEED that the contract has an estimated value of $2bn-$2.5bn.

Adnoc received three bids for the contract to develop the project in September 2022. 

The third bidder was Japan's Marubeni Corporation.

MEED reported in December that Adnoc was undertaking separate negotiations with both teams and asked them to submit an updated bid, including a 100 per cent debt commitment from banks, before resubmitting their proposals.

Nanofiltration scope

The package involves the development of a nanofiltration plant with a capacity of 115 million imperial gallons a day (MIGD) in Mirfa.

The scheme includes the plant's seawater intake and outfall facilities, a pumping station and a 75-kilometre water transmission pipeline to the Bab and Bu Hasa oil fields.

Adnoc and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) will own 51 per cent of the special purpose vehicle that will implement the project, while the selected developer or developer consortium will own 49 per cent. 

The clients issued the requests for qualifications for the contract to develop two seawater treatment plants and associated facilities in March 2021.

Aquifer injection system

Project Wave will replace the current aquifer water injection systems used to maintain reservoir pressure in all onshore oil fields in Abu Dhabi. It aims to utilise seawater as an additional source for enhanced oil recovery-based injection into Abu Dhabi's onshore fields.

It is understood that Project Wave's second package, in Al-Nouf, will be tendered separately. 

The two planned standalone greenfield seawater nanofiltration plants were to have a combined treatment capacity of about 210 MIGD. This is understood to have been expanded.

The two seawater treatment plants will be implemented on a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis.

Adnoc had indicated that it expects the plants to commence commercial operations in 2025. 

Adnoc will be the sole offtaker of the treated seawater at the battery limit of the Adnoc Onshore fields.

A team of UK-based Alderbrook Finance and Saudi Arabia-based SMBC are the financial advisers to the client for the BOOT projects. Austria-headquartered ILF Consulting Engineers is the technical adviser.