Awarded

GE Energy said it has been awarded a US$200 million contract by Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil to supply three turbo compressor strings for the liquefaction process at the Qatargas II LNG Expansion Project. Qatargas II, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, also will feature the world’s largest trains for LNG production. Qatar Petroleum owns 70% of the project and ExxonMobil 30%. Located in Qatar, Ras Laffan Industrial City, each Qatargas II liquefaction train will be rated for an annual capacity of 7.8 million tons. Startup of the first train is planned for the winter of 2007. GE Energy is supplying three MS9001E gas turbine-driven compression strings with low emissions capability. It will be the first application of these units in LNG refrigeration service. The gas turbines will be manufactured at GE facilities in Belfort, France and tested and packaged at GE’s Massa, Italy plant for shipment to the Ras Laffan site in November 2005. ExxonMobil is planning several LNG import terminals along the Gulf Coast of the United States to accept LNG shipments from the new liquefaction project.

Spanish-Argentine energy concern Repsol-YPF SA is expected to be awarded Mexico’s first multiple service contract (MSC) on Thursday, as the country takes its first major step toward allowing private investment in its upstream sector.

The development of a new technology for detecting problems in the nation’s 2-million-mile underground pipeline network was awarded a grant Friday by the federal Department of Transportation (DOT) to the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, TX, and a coalition of researchers and energy companies, including Sempra Energy’s Southern California Gas Co., the largest U. S. natural gas distributor.

Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) has awarded a Shell affiliate a contract to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Altamira in the Gulf Coast state of Tamaulipas. The contract calls for Shell’s Gas del Litoral to supply 500 MMcf/d of gas from the terminal to the CFE.

Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) has awarded a Shell affiliate a contract to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Altamira in the Gulf Coast state of Tamaulipas. The contract calls for Shell’s Gas del Litoral to supply 500 MMcf/d of gas from the terminal to the CFE.

Cheniere Energy, which is planning three liquefied natural gas import terminals along the Gulf Coast, said it awarded the front end engineering design contracts for the Sabine Pass, LA, and Corpus Christi, TX, terminals to Black & Veatch Pritchard Inc. (B&V). The design work is expected to be completed for both sites by the end of September. B&V also worked for Cheniere on its first LNG site in Freeport, TX. An application for the Freeport terminal was filed with FERC last month (see Daily GPI, April 1). Cheniere said it plans to file FERC applications for the remaining two projects by next January. The two sites that Cheniere has chosen appear to be “exceptional locations for both access and permitting,” said Dwayne R. Stone, president of Black & Veatch. Cheniere CEO Charif Souki added that the sites were selected because they have “deepwater access, closeness to open water, safety, sufficient land, local demand for gas and pipeline access. Furthermore, the local communities at all three sites have been very welcoming and supportive. By the end of 2007, we hope to have facilities in place, which will allow suppliers the ability to bring 5 to 6 Bcf/d of gas into the country through these strategically selected Gulf Coast locations. It will give these importers flexibility and minimize the probability of delays to their ships because of weather, traffic, or unexpected channel closures, through the availability of multiple port locations, a multitude of docks, plentiful storage and pipeline access.”

Following a six-month pilot program in New Orleans, Halliburton’s Sperry-Sun service line has been awarded a contract to construct and implement a real-time operations center (RTOC) to manage and optimize all of Shell Exploration & Production Co.’s well construction activities in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

Following a six-month pilot program in New Orleans, Halliburton’s Sperry-Sun service line has been awarded a contract to construct and implement a real-time operations center (RTOC) to manage and optimize all of Shell Exploration & Production Co.’s well construction activities in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

Schlumberger Oilfield Services and ICA Fluor Daniel on Thursday were awarded the largest ever integrated oilfield services contract in Mexico for work in the Chicontepec reservoir. The $500 million contract to recover natural gas, along with light and heavier oil in the reservoir spans four years.