Essar Projects, Saipem JV bags USD 1.57 bn contract in Kuwait

Essar Projects today said its joint venture with Italy's Saipem has own a USD 1.57 billion order from Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC) for setting up Al-Zour Refinery in Kuwait.
This is Dubai-headquartered EPC company Essar Projects' largest third-party contract in the region, swelling its order book to USD 2.8 billion, the company said in a statement here.
The new refinery project at Al Zour is Kuwait's biggest development project with crude processing capacity of 6,15,000 barrels per day (bpd).
KNPC awarded four Contracts for the refinery's construction, worth over USD 13.2 billion to successful international bidders, making it the biggest contract signing for 2015.

Essar Projects-Saipem joint ventur won package-4 of the refinery project.
The joint venture would be responsible for engineering, procurement, construction, pre-commissioning and assistance during commissioning, startup and performance testing of Package-4 which is Tank Farms for the of the Al-Zour refinery project.

"Essar's portion comprises build-out of tankages, roads and bridges, as well as civil work, on an EPC basis. The project is expected to be completed by 2019," the statement said.
At the contract signing ceremony, Essar Projects was represented by its Managing Director and CEO Shiba Panda.
"This mega order win is a testimony to our project management capabilities, which we have built over the years. The project marks Essar's entry into the Kuwait project market with the biggest EPC contract by an external client.

"It also signals a quantum growth in our overseas business, showcasing our capability to collaborate with leading international EPC companies and our competitiveness in the face of tough global competition," Panda said.
Essar Projects has begun to mobilise resources for the project.
Gianluca Mosca, COO -- Overseas, Essar Projects said, "With several large infrastructure and industrial projects being implemented in West Asia, it has become one of the fastest growing markets in the world today. Within a short span of time Essar Projects has carved a name for itself and bagged significant project wins in the region due to its inherent strengths in delivering large and complex projects."

With this order, Essar Projects' order book has swelled to USD 2.8 billion, with projects being executed in nine countries.
The company has a track record of setting up large and complex projects in oil and gas (E&P as well as refineries), power, ports and steel.
"It is currently focusing on third-party orders, particularly in the Middle East, where the company sees significant opportunities," the statement added.