State-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., or Adnoc, said that Royal Dutch Shell PLC has "good standing" in its bid to operate the Bab sour-gas field, the firm's director general Abdulla al-Suwaidi said Monday.
The company has shortlisted Shell and France's Total SA for the estimated $10 billion deal, but is yet to make an official announcement on the winner.
"Shell has good standing... in a couple of weeks we will pick one of them," Mr. Suwaidi told reporters in Abu Dhabi.
Industry sources have said that Shell won the bid, after the two firms presented competitive offers. The main difference between the two bids was their approach in handling the massive amounts of sulfur produced at the field.
The Bab field, once developed, will produce between 500 million cubic feet and 800 million cubic feet of gas per day, but expertise is required to handle the large amounts of sulfur generated from the estimated 15% hydrogen sulfide content of the gas.
Shell has recommended exporting the sulfur, while Total submitted a proposal to reinject the sulfur back into the reservoir.
The deal needs to be signed off by the emirate's highest oil authority, the Supreme Petroleum Council – which includes the most senior leaders in the emirate.
