MEOG: KOC keeps contracting

Kuwait’s state-owned upstream operator last week awarded another major contract as new reports emerged about further delays to an already overdue project.

French firm Technip Energies was picked by Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC) for a five-year framework agreement that covers project management consultancy (PMC), front-end engineering and design (FEED) and associated services for major projects under development in the Gulf state.

A statement by Technip Energies did not specify the size of the contract, describing it only as ‘large, which the company defines as €250-€500mn ($266-$532mn). It marks the renewal of a five-year framework first awarded in 2014. That deal entailed the provision of support across the government firm’s long project slate of upgrades to existing facilities and the development of new ones, most importantly the estimated $4.2bn Lower Fars heavy oil project, which aims to add 270,000 barrels per day (bpd) of production by 2023.