Italys Saipem SpA, a subsidiary of Italian energy firm Eni, has signed two contracts with a total value in excess of US$1.2 billion to develop oilfields in Kuwait and Syria.

Omans oil output and exports jumped significantly in 2010 with the countrys oil output rising by 6.6 per cent in the first ten months of 2010 compared to a year ago and oil exports increasing by 10.4 per cent, the latest figures from the Ministry of Economy revealed.

Leighton Offshore was awarded an EPC contract with Iraqs South Oil Company to install three single point moorings (SPMs) and 120 kilometres of 48-inch pipelines in the Arabian Gulf, offshore Iraq.

2011 will hopefully bring greater activity to oil engineering firms across the Middle East who will be looking for a pickup in oil and gas contract awards after 2010 proved to be a very quiet year.

Saudis state-run oil giant Saudi Aramco signed a contract with state-run Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (JOGMEC) that would allow the Saudi company to store crude oil in Japan from February 2011 onwards.