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.
Saipem signed the Kuwaiti contract with Al-Kharafi Group to develop the Jurassic oil field in the country's northern fields with the aim of boosting crude oil output by developing the area's Jurassic formations, according to a company statement.
The contract encompasses the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of the early production facilities, which will have an oil and gas treatment capacity of 150,000 barrels per day in this first phase of development, and of the gathering system and pipelines, next to a sulphur granulation plant.
Preparations at the field will be completed in the second quarter of 2013 and Saipem will operate the field for five years under the contract. Kharafi Group holds the operating license for the field. The temporary facilities are used to test the viability of production, generally over five years. If the site proves viable, state upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) will build permanent facilities.
The second contract was awarded by Syrian company Dijla Petroleum Company for Saipem to build a central processing facility at the Khurbet East oil field, on Block 26. Saipem will carry out the engineering, procurement and construction of a plant (central processing facility) with the capacity to process 50,000 barrels of fluids per day. The facility will be completed in 20 months, the company stated.
