Italian firm wins $2.25bn Adco project

Italy’s Maire Tecnimont has won a US$2.25 billion contract for an oil and gas project from the Abu Dhabi National Company for Onshore Oil Operations (Adco), the Milan-listed firm said on Thursday.

The contract is for implementing process and associated units for the Al Dabb’iya Surface Facilities Phase III project in Abu Dhabi, the company said.

Adco, a unit of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), operates the Al Dabb’iya field, which is located 40 kilometre south-west of the capital.

The project is part of Adco’s North East Bab development programme and includes gathering crude oil through a network of pipelines, oil and gas export pipelines and a central process plant, the company said.

“For its magnitude and technical standing, this can be considered Maire Tecnimont Group’s flagship project in terms of oil and gas business experience, following the successful completion of Gasco Habshan 5,” the firm said. “Moreover, it will consolidate the long lasting presence in the country and will represent the top reference for the group.”

Pierroberto Folgiero, the firm’s chief executive, said the project confirmed Maire Tecnimont’s strategy of pursuing opportunities in “selective, well known geographies”.

In March the firm won a contract to develop facilities for a petrochemicals complex in Egypt worth between $1.7bn and $1.95bn. The project is split evenly with the Dutch group Archirodon.

Adco is set to invest up to $7bn to meet its production target of 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of 2017 from the current capacity of 1.6 million bpd.

Adco operates the largest onshore oilfields, which are currently responsible for about 40 per cent of the country’s output of 2.8 million bpd. The country aims to increase its total output to 3.5 million bpd by 2017.

Adnoc took 100 per cent ownership of the onshore fields when the concessions with major oil companies expired in January after 75 years.

The most pressing issue for reaching the 2017 target is the renewal of the concessions and any uncertainty surrounding their tenure and the partners that will be involved, analysts have said.

“[The Italian producer] Eni is keen to be a part of the UAE market and made an excellent technical offer [to Adnoc], and we await the decision of the UAE authorities,” said Giorgio Starace, Italy’s ambassador to the UAE.

“These are all strategic agreements that are in the framework in the growing bilateral partnership between Italy and the UAE,” he said after the announcement of the Maire Tecnimont deal, which he said gave “prestige” to Italian companies looking to work in the region.

* with additional reporting from LeAnne Graves

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