Thursday, Sep 08, 2011
--Technip/NPCC team win $500 million EPC contract in Abu Dhabi
--Consortium to carry out Satah oil field development for Zadco
--Project to maximize crude oil production, recovery
(Adds details, background throughout; oil price in last paragraph.)
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--French engineering contractor Technip S.A. (TEC.FR) said Thursday it has won a $500 million contract in partnership with Abu Dhabi-based National Petroleum Construction Co. to develop the existing Satah oil field in the United Arab Emirates to help the oil-rich Gulf Arab state boost crude production capacity.
Under the engineering, procurement and construction, or EPC, lump-sum contract awarded by Abu Dhabi's Zakum Development Co., or Zadco, the Technip/NPCC consortium will carry out the full field development, with the objective to maximize crude oil production and oil recovery, Technip said in an emailed statement. Technip's share of the contract is 35%, the company added.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Japan Oil Development Co., or Jodco, hold 28% and 12% stakes respectively in Zadco, while majority owner Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. owns 60%.
The offshore Satah field, located some 200 kilometers northwest of Abu Dhabi city, was discovered in 1975 and started production in July 1987, according to the Zadco website. Its oil is processed on Zirku Island in the Persian Gulf.
The project scope involves offshore brownfield works to the existing well-head platforms and production manifold platform, installation of infield pipelines, as well as modifications and installation of new facilities at the Onshore Satah plant at Zirku Island, Technip said.
The company's operating center in Abu Dhabi will carry out the engineering and procurement activities, while construction and installation activities for offshore works will be performed by NPCC. Onshore construction will be carried out jointly by both firms, Technip said without providing details on when project works would be completed.
Abu Dhabi, the U.A.E.'s largest emirate, holds almost all the country's crude oil reserves. In August, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries member pumped about 2.55 million barrels a day of crude, according to a Dow Jones Newswires survey, making it the third-largest producer in the 11-member group alongside Kuwait.
Gulf Arab states, flush with cash from high oil revenues, are spending part of their income on expanding oil production capacity to meet an anticipated rise in demand this decade, mainly from fast-growing Asian economies such as China and India.
New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for October delivery were last trading up 14 cents at $89.48 a barrel on Globex after falling as low as $89.31, while October ICE Brent is down 15 cents at $115.65 a barrel.
-By Oliver Klaus, Dow Jones Newswires; +9714 446-1693; Oliver.Klaus@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
08-09-11 0607GMT
