Bahrain aims to award oilfield tender by end 2008

DOHA, April 8 (Reuters) - Bahrain aims to award a tender to double output at its onshore Awali oilfield by the end of the year, a top oil official said on Tuesday.

The three companies left in the competition for the contract were Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Occidental (OXY.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and A.P. Moller -Maersk (MAERSKb.CO: Quote, Profile, Research), said Faisal al-Mahroos, deputy chief executive at state oil firm Bapco.

"We are negotiating with these three and hope to conclude the deal by the end of the year," he told Reuters on the sidelines of an energy conference. He declined to say which company was the frontrunner for the contract.

Bahrain hopes to double the field's 35,000 barrels per day output through the deal. The winning firm will be drilling for deeper and more difficult oil than previously tapped, Mahroos added.

Last year, Bahrain awarded a tender for offshore exploration to Occidental and Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production PTTE.BK.

(Reporting by Simon Webb, Editing by Margaret Orgill)