Petrofac has bagged an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) worth about $1bn from Groupment Isarene for the Ain Tsila gas project in Algeria.
Image: Sonatrach, Petroceltic and Enel award EPC contract for Ain Tsila gas project to Petrofac. Photo: courtesy of skeeze/Pixabay.
As per the scope of the 42-month lump-sum contract, Petrofac will be responsible for the commissioning, start-up and performance testing of the Ain Tsila gas project.
Located in the Illizi Province, about 1,100km south-east of Algiers, the onshore Algerian field will produce gas, LPG and condensate, which will be sold in both domestic and international markets.
The Ain Tsila gas project is estimated to produce 2.1 trillion cubic feet of sales gas, 67 million barrels of condensate and 108 million barrels of LPG from an annual average wet gas plateau rate of 355 million standard cubic feet/day.
Groupment Isarene, which is a joint venture of Sonatrach, Petroceltic and Enel, is targeting first production from the onshore gas project in 2020.
Sonatrach, the Algerian state-owned energy company is the biggest stakeholder in the Ain Tsila gas project with a stake of 43.3% followed by the UK-based Petroceltic, which holds a 38.2% stake while Italian firm Enel holds a stake of 18.3%.
In July 2014, Petroceltic completed sale of an 18.3% stake to Sonatrach in the Algerian onshore field.
Petrofac engineering & construction group managing director E S Sathyanarayanan said: “I am delighted we have the opportunity to be working with the Groupement Isarene partners to deliver this strategically important project.
“This award builds on Petrofac’s significant track record in Algeria where we have been operating successfully for more than 20 years, with a strong record for project execution and the development of local capability. We are focused on delivering an effective, safe solution that meets our high standards and continues our commitment to the local energy sector.”
The Algerian gas condensate field, which spans an area of more than 1,000km2, was discovered in 2009, through the drilling of the Ain Tsila-1 well. Groupment Isarene plans to drill 124 wells during the 30 years of field development.
Initial production from the Ain Tsila gas project is expected to be drawn from 18 vertical wells. The produced gas, which will be through a new gas-processing plant, will be sent out via a 100km long pipeline to the main Algerian gas transmission system.