DUBAI: A consortium led by Italy’s Saipem has submitted the lowest offer in a bid for work on Kuwait’s planned Al-Zour refinery making it likely it will be selected, a source familiar with the matter said.

The consortium has submitted an offer for about 475 million dinars ($1.57 billion), but the tender still requires final approval from the country’s higher tenders committees, the source said. He did not provide information on other bids received.

Kuwaiti media said Saipem’s offer was for the so-called “fourth package,” the last major contract for the Zour plant. It includes building storage tanks and pipelines for the refinery.

Last month, Kuwait National Petroleum Co. (KNPC) awarded 3.48 billion dinars ($11.5 billion) in contracts to build the planned 615,000 barrel-per-day refinery.

That included a 454-million-dinar contract for a consortium comprising Saipem, Hyundai Engineering and Construction, and SK Engineering and Construction to build a marine export terminal.

Signing of all contracts is expected to take place in early October.