Technip wins Agbami field development contract

Star Deep Water Petroleum (an affiliate of Chevron) has awarded Technip an engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract valued at $ 800 mm (about N 107.2 bn) for the Agbami field development, located offshore Nigeria in approximately 1,550 metres water depth.
Laurence Bricq, Technip's Manager in-charge of Public Relations made the disclosure.

This contract includes the installation of manifolds, supplied by Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited, and the design, manufacture and installation of flexible flowlines (1), risers (2) and umbilicals (3).
Technip's engineering centre in Paris (France) will be in charge of the overall management of the project. This centre will also undertake the engineering and design of the flowlines and associated risers, which will be manufactured by Flexi France, one of the Group's flexible pipe plants, located in Le Trait (France).

As part of Technip's commitment to local development, logistics and pre-commissioning services will be sub-contracted to companies in Nigeria. It is also expected that the Group will train Nigerian engineers in offshore deepwater construction technology, and Nigerian technicians in flexible flowline termination.
The offshore installation campaign is anticipated in two phases commencing mid-2007 with completion during the second quarter of 2008. Installation will involve several vessels from Technip's fleet.

Notes:
-- Flowline: flexible pipe laid on the seabed for the transportation of production or injection fluids.
-- Riser: vertical flexible pipe connecting the flowlines to the surface facility.
-- Umbilical: assembly of hydraulic hoses, which can also include electrical cables or optic fibres, used to control a subsea structure or ROV from a platform or a vessel.

With a workforce of about 19,000 persons, Technip ranks among the top five corporations in the field of oil, gas and petrochemical engineering, construction and services. Headquartered in Paris, the Group is listed in New York and Paris. The Group's main engineering and business centres are located in France, Italy, Germany, the UK, Norway, Finland, The Netherlands, the USA, Brazil, Abu-Dhabi, China, India, Malaysia and Australia.
In support of its activities, the Group manufactures flexible pipes and umbilicals, and builds offshore platforms in its manufacturing plants and fabrication yards in France, Brazil, the UK, the USA, Finland and Angola, and has a fleet of specialized vessels for pipeline installation and subsea construction.

Other partners in the Agbami development include Texaco Nigeria Outer Shelf (an affiliate of the Chevron), Petroleo Brasileiro Nigeria, Statoil Nigeria, Famfa Oil and the NNPC.
Technip has been involved in several development projects in the Nigerian oil and gas industry and one of these, is the development of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas trains on Bonny Island, which has been enmeshed in controversy. It has been alleged that the consortium, made up of Technip, Snamprogetti, Kellogg and Japanese Gas Corporation (TSKJ) which built the plant, paid government officials over $ 180 mm in bribes, to help the consortium secure the contract.