KOC to Issue Tenders for $2.5bn Well Drilling Towers Supply

State-owned Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is planning to issue tenders for the supply and installation of 63 oil well drilling towers with a total value of around 750 million Kuwaiti dinars ($2.5 billion).

KOC, which manages the OPEC member’s oil upstream industry, has already pre-qualified two local firms and a number of global companies to bid for the contract, said an official oil source in the Gulf emirate.

The pre-qualified companies will be given 75 days to submit bids for the project, the largest of its kind in Kuwait this year, the report said.

“KOC has decided to divide this mega contract into four packages so as many firms as possible can bid,” the report added.

“It is the first time that KOC decides to change bidding mechanism from practice to tenders to preserve public funds and prevent price manipulation by contractors…this way will also allow KOC to slash time needed for awarding contracts.”

The source said supply of the drilling towers must be completed within a year after signing the contract. There are instructions by the authorities to “ensure those towers are supplied on time to allow KOC to maintain current oil output and boost capacity from next year.”