Petrofac awarded contract to build EBLA gas plant

Petrofac has been awarded a contract for the construction of a gas treatment plant in the region of Ebla, in northern Syria.

The EBLA project, as it is called, is developed by Petro-Canada, which has a 100% interest in a production sharing agreement to develop and produce gas in the Ash Shaer and Cherrife fields. The plant to be built by Petrofac will be designed to process 2.5 million cubic metres of natural gas a day from these two fields.

The total value of the contract stands at USD 477 million.

This project is the second won by Petrofac in Syria in less than a month following the award, on March 24, of a contract to build another natural gas treatment plant for the benefit of Hayan Petroleum Company, a JV between the Syrian Petroleum Company and INA Naftaplin. The Jihar Gas Plant will have a capacity of 4 million cubic metres a day with a total contract value of USD 454 million.

Petrofac has also announced that as part of the deal it had agreed to purchase a 10% interest in the EBLA production sharing contract.

The EBLA project had initially been awarded to Marathon. But following a dispute between the US firm and the Syrian Government that lasted over 15 years, Marathon sold 90 percent of its shares in the PSA to Petro-Canada in November 2006 for an amount of USD 46 million. The Canadian firm exercised its option to buy the remaining 10 percent in December 2007.

The Ash Shaer and Cherrife fields are estimated to hold over 500 billion cubic feet of natural gas (83 million barrels of oil equivalent) in reserves. The EBLA gas plant should be commissioned in 2010.