IKPT, Petrofac win Algeria LNG contract

A consortium of British-based oil services company Petrofac and Indonesian engineering company PT. Inti Karya Persada Tehnik (IKPT) had provisionally won a contract to build an LNG plant in Algeria, government newspaper El Moudjhaid said on Sunday.

Under the contract, the consortium will build an LNG plant in the western Mediterranean port of Arzew with a production capacity of 4.3 million tons a year, the newspaper said.

Petrofac and IKPT have 10 days to provide guarantees that they can build the plant within the price they offered of 55,000 dinars (449 pounds) a ton, or the contract will be awarded to the runner-up, a consortium of Italy's Snamprogetti SpA and Japan's Chiyoda Corp. the newspaper said.

The contract requires the plant to be built within 50 months, with the work financed 100 percent by Algerian state energy company Sonatrach. The plant will be fed by gas from Algeria's Gassi Touil and Rhourd Nouss gas fields.

When contacted by Petromindo.com, IKPT's overseas marketing staff Reza Susanto confirmed the consortium had won the tender, outbidding better known rivals such as French firm Technip.

"We have been unofficially named as the winner. The contract is expected to be signed within 20 days in Algeria. We have prepared ourselves with a guarantee as demanded by the Algerian govenrment,? (denny))