09 September 2019
Oil and gas contractor National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with two leading entities in China's energy sector at the 24th World Energy Congress in Abu Dhabi, it was announced on Monday.

NPCC said in a statement that it had signed separate agreements with China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation (CPECC), affiliated to China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), as well as the China National Engineering Co (CNCEC) to explore joint collaborative opportunities in both onshore and offshore oil and gas sectors, as well as other strategic areas of interest.

The statement said the MoUs were signed in the presence of Mohamed Rashed Al Hameli, Chairman of NPCC and Zhou Chunlin, Economic and Commercial Counselor- China.

It said the the MoUs were signed by Ahmed Al Dhaheri, CEO of NPCC, with Liu Haijun, Chairman and President of CPECC, and attended by Jiang Minjun, Executive Director of CNPC International - Abu Dhabi, Yang Shibang, Vice President - China Petroleum Engineering Co and Qi Jianhua- VP-CPECC; and with Yi Bingyin, Vice General Manager of CC-7 [China National Chemical Engineering No.7 Construction Company], and attended by Nie Chuan, Chairman of CNCEC Middle East.

Under the agreement with CPECC, the statement continued, NPCC will explore potential opportunities to cooperate on projects and exchange information, data and insights, where relevant, for possible cooperation on future projects in the energy sector.

Through the MoU with CNCEC, according to the statement, the two parties will conduct all-round cooperation in respect of potential projects for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and will explore opportunities for financing services on ADNOC projects in the MENA region. They will also evaluate opportunities on existing ADNOC projects in addition to leveraging mutual strengths in financial and industrial capital, technological advances, management strengths and the integration of resources to strengthen cooperation in the MENA region.

Mohamed Rashed Al Hameli said in the statement that NPCC has proven competencies in undertaking complex fabrication and manufacturing for onshore and offshore projects, which will add value to partnerships with CPECC and CNCEC.

"It will also enable us to expand our footprint in China, one of the largest growth markets for the energy sector," he said.

Ahmed Al Dhaheri said: "This is one of our first collaborative outreach initiatives in China, where we see significant opportunity to expand our presence and offering. All the entities can benefit from the partnership, which will potentially help expand our business footprint and showcase our strengths to Chinese energy sector stakeholders."

Liu Haijun added that the UAE is one of the fundamental countries to the 'Belt and Road' initiatives.

"Under the stream of deepening the bilateral economic development between UAE and China, ADNOC and CNPC have been working together in business expansions," he said, adding that the alliance supports the direction of Sino-UAE partnership.

According to the press statement, NPCC, a part of Senaat Group, currently operates in Arabian Gulf, South Asia and South East Asia, and has plans to expand its operations to Africa and Caspian region. The company provides engineering, procurement, project management, fabrication, installation and commissioning to project owners and operators.

CPECC, the statement said, has been working in the UAE since 2006, and has completed a number of key projects, including the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline Project, and Mender Field Development Project. CNCEC has been listed in Top 225/250 Global Contractors since 1995 on ENR (Engineering News Record), the statement concluded.

(Writing by Madhura Deulgaonkar; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@refinitiv.com)

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