Gazprom, Petrofac sign 3-year Kurdistan deal

Petrofac will provide engineering services to Gazprom Neft at its operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the Middle East-focused EPC company announced on Monday.

The two companies signed a master services agreement under which Petrofac will provide engineering services on a call-off basis for three years at the Russian company’s Sarqala block (formerly known as Garmian).

Petrofac’s works will be directed towards a debottlenecking operation to expand the Sarqala field’s central processing facility, the company said in a press release.

“We have been working with this key client in Iraq for more than three years and hope to take this opportunity to build on our relationship through the demonstration of Petrofac’s fit-for-purpose and value-driven engineering solutions in the Kurdistan region,” Steve Webber, senior vice-president, Petrofac Engineering & Production Services East, said.

Gazprom Neft Middle East has a 40% operating stake in the Sarqala block, with WesternZagros also holding 40% and the Kurdistan Regional Government holding the remaining 20%.

In late September, a Gazprom executive told the company’s news service that it is eyeing entering new Kurdistan blocks as operator, as well as looking to renegotiate the terms of its PSAs due to the drop in oil prices.