Two oil majors are among the firms submitting a bid for a huge sour gas project in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Both BP and Shell confirmed they have made a bid on the project which could cost around $10 billion (£5.02 million) but it is thought that as many as five firms may have registered their interests on the project.
"We have made a submission," a BP company spokesman revealed to the Reuters news agency yesterday while a Shell company spokesperson also confirmed that a bid had been made.
It is also thought that French firm Total, Occidental Petroleum and ConocoPhillips have submitted bids to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) which called for submissions to be made on Sunday.
The project will greatly increase the UAE's output of gas, one of the most gas-rich nations in the world, in order to meet rising demand.
In order to make the gas usable the firm with the winning bid, which is expected to be announced in the fourth quarter of this year, will need to create a treatment plant to remove the hydrogen sulphide contained in the sour gas.
Adnoc also called on other oil giants to make a bid, including Chevron and Exxon Mobil, but there has been no confirmation of any offers made by the pair.
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