On May 21, 2026, Wood announced that it had been awarded a subcontract by COOEC to provide detailed design services for pipeline optimization for Qatar Energy's Bul Hanine oil field redevelopment project. This is another key advancement in the execution level after COOEC won the EPC main contract for the project in October 2025. As of now, the Bul Hanine EPIC2 project has entered the comprehensive implementation stage, with multiple international engineering giants entering one after another. This largest offshore oil field in Qatar is undergoing its largest transformation in half a century.

A large $4 billion order landed

The Bul Hanine oil field is located about 120 kilometers east of the coastline of Qatar. It was discovered in 1970 and put into operation in 1972. It is the largest offshore oil field and the fourth largest production asset in Qatar. Driven by the pressure of natural decline in production, Qatar Energy has launched a redevelopment plan with a total investment of approximately $11 billion, aiming to double production and extend production life by 25 years. The plan is to drill approximately 150 new wells by 2028. From August to September 2025, COOEC won two sections of the EPIC project in international bidding, with a contract amount of approximately 4 billion US dollars, setting a new record for the contract amount of Chinese companies undertaking offshore oil and gas projects in the Middle East. On October 13, 2025, the project kickoff meeting will be held simultaneously in Tianjin and Singapore. The contract is expected to be completed by June 2031, covering over 60 offshore facilities and 40 subsea pipelines and cables.

25 submarine pipelines as the core

According to the contract, Wood will undertake three core design tasks: firstly, the complete and detailed design of 25 subsea pipelines, focusing on solving the safety interaction issues of pipeline crossings through existing infrastructure, and managing thermal expansion to ensure long-term integrity; The second is the analysis of the crossing of 15 umbilical cables and 2 power cables, providing safety guarantees for the control and energy transmission systems of offshore platforms; The third is the overall optimization of the pipeline network system, combined with professional knowledge of flow assurance to assist in outputting the optimal solution.

It is worth noting that Wood has previously provided Pre FEED and FEED services directly to Qatar Energy, and the award of the detailed design contract marks a further deepening of cooperation between the two parties. In November 2025, engineering company KBR also obtained a detailed engineering service contract for the same project, with multiple international giants collaborating on stage to highlight the high standards and international attributes of the project. Keywords: petroleum engineering, energy

As the largest international offshore oil and gas EPC project undertaken by China to date, Bul Hanine EPIC2 is not only a key project for upgrading Qatar's energy industry, but also a powerful proof of China's COOEC capabilities in the high-end Middle East market.Editor/Cheng Liting