A consortium led by Petrofac, an international oil and gas services provider, has won a $4 billion contract for the first phase of Kuwait Oil Company’s (KOC) Lower Fars heavy oil development programme.

The consortium includes Greece-based Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC), a Petrofac statement 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 km which will transport 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 52 months following which the plant will be turned over to KOC.

Petrofac and CCC will continue to provide an integrated team at the site for a further eight months to undertake operations and maintenance alongside KOC.

When fully operational it is expected that the initial phase of the Lower Fars heavy oil project will produce around 60,000 barrels of oil a day.

Subramanian Sarma, managing director of Petrofac's Onshore Engineering & Construction (OEC) business, said: “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 14 years, it represents our 11th 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.” - TradeArabia News Service