US firm will install platforms to help KSA reach 2009 targets.
US fabrication firm J Ray McDermott has secured a contract to install offshore platforms at the Moneefa oil field in Saudi Arabia.
The company will undertake the work for Saudi Aramco as part of a wider effort to add 900 000 barrels per day (bpd) of extra crude production capacity to the field. Work will begin in June 2011.
J Ray McDermott will engineer, build and install offshore platforms at Moneefa, Aramco said in a statement after a contract signing ceremony at its headquarters.
The project calls for 13 new platforms and the modification of 26 existing platforms. Aramco refused to comment on the value of the contract. Saudi Arabia is aiming to boost its production capacity from the current 11.3 million bpd to 12.5 million bpd by 2009. The KSA is currently fast-tracking oil field expansion plans in order to achieve this.
It is believed Moneefa is part of plans beyond that, although it is not clear if the field will boost Saudi's capacity, or replace declining production at existing fields.
Saudi Arabia has signed deals to build two new 400 000 bpd refineries in the country, as well as upgrading others at home and abroad to process heavy oil.
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