KBR Won Saudi Aramco Shaybah Gas Project -SNC Lavalin
21 September 2009 - 11:29PM
Dow Jones News
KBR Inc. (KBR) won a contract from the Saudi Arabian Oil Co.
(SOI.YY) to develop a natural gas liquids program in the Shaybah
oil field in Saudi Arabia, according to a spokeswoman of another
oilfield engineering company that won a similar development
contract from Saudi Aramco.
Houston-based KBR will provide engineering and project
management services for the Shaybah natural gas liquids project,
according to a spokeswoman for Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin Group
Inc. (SNCAF). SNC-Lavalin announced earlier Monday that it won
another contract from Saudi Aramco to develop the smaller Wasit gas
development project.
Together, the two natural gas projects are worth nearly US$7
billion, according to people familiar with the plans, and are
designed to meet rising demand for natural gas in Saudia Arabia,
the Middle East's largest economy.
A KBR spokeswoman said in an email that KBR didn't "have
anything to report at this time" about the Shaybah project and that
"everything is still a work in progress."
Other companies that submitted bids for the two contracts on
Aug. 22 include Fluor Corp. (FLR), Foster Wheeler AG (FWLT) and
Technip S.A. (TKPPY), according to people familiar with the
plans.
The Shaybah project involves the installation of a natural gas
liquids recovery facility, the de-bottlenecking of existing gas-oil
separation facilities and the installation of facilities at the
Berri gas plant to handle the natural gas liquids from the recovery
facility.
The Wasit gas development project will create facilities for the
processing and production of up to 2.5 billion cubic feet per day
of natural gas from the Aribiyah and Hasbah offshore gas fields.
It's a five-year development project that is scheduled to begin
Oct. 1.
KBR shares closed down 72 cents to $22.35 on the New York Stock
Exchange Monday. SNC-Lavalin shares closed up 30 cents to C$48.56
on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
-By Edward Welsch, Dow Jones Newswires; 613-237-0669;
edward.welsch@dowjones.com
(Oliver Klaus contributed to this report.)