$280m Malaysian contract awarded to UK's Petrofac

Petrofac, which has extensive operations in the Emirates, says it has won a contract in Malaysia worth US$280 million (Dh1.02bn), and expects the first oil to be produced by the end of 2011.

The UK oil services company Petrofac says it has won a contract in Malaysia worth US$280 million (Dh1.02bn).

Petrofac, which has extensive operations in the Emirates, was selected by Petronas Carigali for the development of the SEPAT offshore early production system on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The first oil is expected to be produced before the end of next year.

With oil prices high, providers have been investing in new exploration and production.

In October, Petrofac won a $250m contract from the Sharjah Government to operate the Sajaa gas plant and associated assets in the emirate, including the gasfields that supply the facility, as part of a five-year services deal.

In addition, Petrofac Emirates, a joint venture between Petrofac and Mubadala Development, a strategic investment company owned by the Abu Dhabi Government, won a contract last year to build a gas plant at South Yoloten, Turkmenistan's biggest gasfield.

"We are delighted to have been awarded this contract by Petronas, which is our first lump-sum offshore [services] contract in South East Asia," said Maroun Semaan, the group chief operating officer of Petrofac.

"The award reinforces our commitment to the region and enables the continued growth of our local delivery capability to support our ongoing relationship with Petronas and other regional partners."

Petrofac will undertake the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning for the full scope of the early production system in a water depth of approximately 65 metres.

The work will comprise a mobile offshore production unit, a floating storage and offloading facility for the early production of about 20,000 barrels of oil per day, and all interconnecting subsea pipelines. These facilities mirror those of the Cendor phase I development, which was also undertaken by Petrofac on behalf of Petronas in record time under a production sharing contract, Petrofac said.

Other firms supporting Petrofac on this project are Kencana, which will add processing equipment, and Bumi Armada. The front-end engineering and design work for the project was carried out in Petrofac's offices in Woking, UK.