Lower Zakum contractors shortlisted, new Zuluf workscopes offered and Marsa LNG update Industry news sources suggest that Saipem is among at least four shortlisted firms bidding for a key package related to the expansion of Adnoc''s Lower Zakum oilfield, while Aramco has floated two new tenders to its LTA pool of offshore contractors for work on the Zuluf oilfield. SBM Offshore is set to compete with Modec to supply the 7th FPSO off Guyana for ExxonMobil and Petrobras is allowing bidders another month to submit offers on the Sepia-2 and Atapu-2 FPSO vessels. Elsewhere, Vietnam''s long-delayed Block B gas project is said to be making progress toward FID this year, as is TotalEnergies Marsa LNG terminal project, while Nigerian officials remain optimistic on the triggering of up to $20bn of project approvals by the end of 2024 despite independent operators saying more needs to be done to attract investment. Key read-across from Big Three US OFS 2Q23 reporting The big three US OFS companies reported this week, with few surprises or changes in overall messaging. International (ex-US) and offshore activity and pricing continues to improve with long-cycle developments in the Middle East and LATAM leading the way and with signs of promise off West Africa and East Med, while overall activity in NAM is seen softening in 2H23, led by smaller private EandPs as publics and IOCs stick to their plans. Baker Hughes re-iterated a positive outlook for gas and LNG project momentum, seeing 65mtpa of FIDs in 2023 and a similar level in 2024 (vs 27mtpa annually over 2013-22), with a number of opportunities solidifying for 2025-26 as the market moves toward 800mtpa of liquefaction capacity by 2030. Chart of the week - is the upstream industry really under-investing? Consultants at Wood Mackenzie this week released a thought piece challenging the notion of upstream under investment, pointing to a 60% decline in unit development costs since 2014 which will allow current...