UK-based oil and gas services provider Petrofac has won a US$4bn contract for the first phase of Kuwait Oil Company’s (KOC) Lower Fars heavy oil development programme, located in north Kuwait
According to Petrofac, the company would be working with Greece-based Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) on the oil development programme.
Subramanian Sarma, managing director of onshore engineering and construction business at Petrofac, said, “The scope of work covers greenfield and brownfield facilities and includes engineering, procurement, construction, pre-commissioning, commissioning (EPC), start-up and operations and maintenance work for the main central processing facility (CPF) and associated infrastructure as well as the production support complex.
“This includes a pipeline of almost 162 kms, which will transport the heavy crude from the CPF to South Tank Farm located in Ahmadi, from where KOC has the option to send it to the proposed Al-Zour refinery in the south of Kuwait.”
The EPC element of the project, which includes 10 months commissioning and ramp-up work, is anticipated to be completed in approximately four years and four months, following which the plant would be turned over to KOC, added Petrofac.
Petrofac and CCC would continue to provide an integrated team at the site for a further eight months to undertake operations and maintenance alongside KOC, noted Sarma.
"This is a significant award for Petrofac in one of our core markets and complements the ongoing projects we have in hand for both KOC and Kuwait National Petroleum Company. With a track record extending over the last 14 years, it represents our eleventh project in the country and reinforces the strategic importance of Kuwait as part of our OEC portfolio. We look forward to working closely with CCC and KOC to deliver the project safely and on time,” said Sarma.
When fully operational, it is expected that the initial phase of the Lower Fars heavy oil project would produce around 60,000 bpd, revealed Sarma.
