Page 6 - MEOG Week 37 2022

MEOG PIPELINES & TRANSPORT MEOG

Kuwaiti gas pipe seen complete by year-end

KUWAIT INDIA’S Larsen & Toubro, a contractor for It also appointed TechnipFMC of France
Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC), is on track to finish a nat- to serve as project management consultant
ural gas pipeline to the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery during construction, and both companies fol-
by the end of this year, an industry source has lowed the plans drawn up by UK-based Wood
informed MEED. Group, KOC’s front-end engineering and design
The Indian company had intended to com- (FEED) contractor.
plete the project earlier this year but obtained a The Indian company had originally hoped
240-day extension for its contract that pushed the to complete the pipeline in November 2021 and
deadline back to December 26, 2022. According then launch regular commercial operations in
to MEED’s source, Larsen & Toubro is on track February 2022.
to meet this deadline. However, it fell behind schedule for reasons
“The project is expected to be mechanically related to the Covid-19 pandemic and expe-
completed and to start before the end of the year, rienced delays in the final quarter of 2021 and
as [KOC] has already extended the time available the first quarter of 2022. Those delays led some
to the contractor to complete the project, but it is observers to predict that the pipeline might
not expected that there will be more time exten- not be operational until next year, but MEED’s
sions needed,” the source explained. source said that the pace of work had picked up,
KOC awarded the construction contract for as fewer disruptions were being encountered.
the 145-km pipeline, which will link natural gas The value of the pipeline contract has been
fields in the northern part of the country to the estimated at $480mn. This accounts for more
Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, to Larsen & Toubro than 63% of the $755mn in gas pipeline deals
in April 2019. awarded in the GCC region in 2019.™

Saudi, Egyptian firms sign MoU on

co-operation in gas distribution

SAUDI ARABIA SAUDI Arabia’s Natural Gas Distribution Co. company. At present, Natural Gas Distribution
said in a recent stock exchange statement that Co. is primarily active in Saudi Arabia and has
it had signed a memorandum of understanding become the country’s second-largest distributor
(MoU) with TAQA Arabia, an Egyptian utility of dry gas. It receives supplies of gas via pipeline
company, on the joint development of natural from Saudi Aramco, the national oil company
gas transportation networks and services. (NOC), and distributes them via local networks
In the statement, Natural Gas Distribution to customers that include 66 factories.
Co. said that the MoU outlined plans for the Natural Gas Distribution Co. said in the
two companies to work together over a period stock exchange statement that the MoU was in
of one year. The parties will have the option of line with its plans for increasing its profits and
extending the term of the agreement beyond the expanding its business. It did not comment on
current end date of September 6, 2023, it said. the projected value of the agreement.
The goal of the partnership is to “[discuss] TAQA Arabia, for its part, is the largest gas
ways of co-operation in entering into a partner- distributor in Egypt. The company maintains
ship to develop and operate gas transportation teams of skilled construction and engineer-
services and gas networks,” the statement noted. ing specialists with experience in carrying out
The Saudi company did not reveal any details gas distribution projects in Egypt and in other
of its plans for cooperation with the Egyptian countries.™

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 37 14•September•2022