A £750MILLION contract announced yesterday by international oil and gas facility provider Petrofac will see it expand its activities in Algeria.
Petrofac said it had secured the deal from In Salah Gas (ISG) – a partnership between Sonatrach, BP and Statoil – for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work in southern fields of the north African country’s In Salah gas development.
Petrofac chief operating officer Maround Semaan said: “The southern fields is our sixth EPC project in Algeria and further demonstrates our commitment to supporting the country’s developments in the energy sector.
“We have recently completed a similar project in the region for the same customer, with success, and believe this new award reflects our dedication to this strategically important market.”
The latest contract win covers a 50-month project being done in phases. The fields to be developed at In Salah include Garet el Befinat, Hassie Moumene, In Salah and Gour Mohmoud.
Subramanian Sarma, the managing director of Petrofac’s engineering and construction business, said: “We hope to build on the experience and knowledge gained from our long track record of working in Algeria . . . and look forward to strengthening our relationships with both ISG and our subcontracting partners during the execution stages.”
Algeria is one of the largest natural gas producers in the world and also a major oil producer. Industry operators from overseas must work in partnership with state oil company Sonatrach.
Petrofac – a significant employer in the north-east – won its first contract in Algeria in 1997 for work on the Tifernine oil field.
More recent contract awards include the £375million Salah gas-compression project in 2007 and a £1.37billion EPC deal for the El Merk central processing facility in Algeria’s Berkine Basin.