Conoco selects Brown & Root to build $1.6b facilities

American oil and gas firm Conoco Inc. has selected a consortium led by Indonesian unit of construction company Brown & Root to build its oil and gas facilities worth US$1.6 billion in the West Natuna area of the South China Sea, industry sources said.

The sources told Petromindo.Com on Wednesday that PT Brown & Root Indonesia came out as the winner in the international bidding which also involved consortium of South Korean firm Hyunday,Petrosea and French firm Technip.

"Conoco has submitted the bidding result to state oil and gas company Pertamina for approval," one of the sources said.

The project includes the development of two wellhead platforms, the floating production storage offtake (FPSO) facilities and pipelines at Conoco's Block B production sharing contract (PSC) in the West Natuna area.

Conoco Indonesia's president Patrick L. Meyer earlier said the FPSO facilties will be able to process 350 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) of gas and to handle the extraction of 20,000 barrels of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) per day and 75,000 barrels of oil per day.

The project is expected to come on stream in the middle of 2004, he said.

Conoco, together with Canadian firm Gulf Indonesia Resources and British firm Premier Oil, has signed a contract to supply gas from their fields in West Natuna to Singapore. Conoco has also signed a contract to supply gas to Malaysia.(Alex/Godang)