Technip-Coflexip Wins Gas Plant Expansion Project

TECHNIP-COFLEXIP has been awarded, by Saudi Arabian Oil Company SAUDI ARAMCO, for the expansion of the Berri gas plant to handle additional output of sour gas from the Qatif field, which is now under development. TECHNIP-COFLEXIP will provide a low-pressure gas sweetening unit, two new sulfur recovery units, a new feed gas compressor, the revamp and capacity increase of the existing propane refrigeration unit, the upgrade of the existing sulfur recovery units to meet higher recovery rates, the upgrade of the inlet and flare facilities, additional sulfur storage capacity and the expansion of the existing utility systems to serve the new facilities. Low-pressure gas sweetening capacity will thus be increased by 250 MMSCFD to a total of 871 MMSCFD for industrial consumption, while sulfur recovery capacity will be increased by 1330 metric tons/day to a total of 3313 metric tons/day. TECHNIP-COFLEXIP services will include project management, detail engineering, procurement of equipment and materials, construction management, construction, precommissioning and assistance to commissioning.

The overall project will be carried out by TECHNIP-COFLEXIP’s engineering center in Rome, with the construction being handled by the Group’s local affiliate TECHNIP SAUDI ARABIA. The project is scheduled to begin in early March 2002 and completion is slated for November 2005. This contract falls within the framework of Saudi Arabia’s “Qatif Producing Facilities Development Program”, the primary objectives of which are to produce 500 million barrels/day of Arabian light crude from the Qatif field and 300 million barrels/day of Arabian medium crude from the Abu Safah field and to process respectively 330 MMSCFD and 40 MMSCFD of associated gas from the Qatif and Abu Safah fields as well as to produce additional sulfur at the Berri gas plant. This new success adds to the remarkable list of TECHNIP-COFLEXIP’s references in Saudi Arabia, including several other large contracts for SAUDI ARAMCO: Hawiyah, Abqaiq and Haradh, which are parts of the major gas development program managed by Saudi Aramco.