Petrofac, the international oil & gas facilities service provider, has been awarded a US$2.2 billion engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the El Merk central processing facility (CPF) in the Berkine Basin of Algeria, which is to be executed over the next 44 months, with first significant volumes from the project expected in 2012.
The El Merk CPF, which is located in Block 208, will be operated by Sonatrach and Anadarko on behalf of the El Merk partners: Sonatrach, Anadarko, Maersk Oil, Eni, ConocoPhillips and Talisman (Algeria) BV. Block 208 is located 90 km south of the Sonatrach/Anadarko-operated Hassi Berkine South (HBNS) facility.
The El Merk central processing facility will serve as a production hub for the region, processing hydrocarbons initially from Block 208, operated by the Sonatrach/Anadarko Association, and from the unitised EMK field located on a portion of both Block 208 and the Sonatrach/ConocoPhillips operated Block 405a. The combined nominal capacity of the initially installed processing facilities will be 98,000 barrels of oil per day, 29,000 barrels of condensate per day, and 31,000 barrels of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) per day together with an NGL train with a nominal capacity of 600 million standard cubic feet per day. The CPF will also include 500 million standard cubic feet of residue and re-injection gas compression and approximately 80,000 barrels per day of produced water treatment and re-injection facilities.
Commenting on the award, Maroun Semaan, Petrofac's chief operating officer said:
"The award of the very substantial El Merk CPF project firmly consolidates Petrofac's position as one of the key players in the Algerian oil & gas sector and again highlights Petrofac's competitiveness in the Middle East EPC market."
Ayman Asfari, Petrofac's group chief executive, added:
"We are delighted to have secured this important and substantial contract. Petrofac has been actively executing the ISG project in Algeria for the past 14 months and the award of El Merk re-inforces our commitment to working in the country."