Dubai’s Drake and Scull wins Dhs 226m contract for Iraq’s Zubair oilfield

Dubai-based contractor Drake and Scull International has won a Dhs 226m engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the Zubair oilfield in Basra, Iraq, it announced on Monday.

The contract was awarded by ENI Iraq BV (EIBV), a subsidiary of the Italian oil and gas multinational firm ENI S.p.A.

EIBV is the lead contractor of the Zubair project consortium which comprises EIBV, Occidental of Iraq and KOGAS Iraq BV.

Under the deal, Drake and Scull will construct a water injection network installation project at the oil field.

Drake and Scull Oil and Gas (DSOG) will also oversee the EPC of a gas supply pipeline system to a power plant along with the water injection systems consisting of flow lines, trunk lines, manifolds stations and wellheads hook-up work to enhance oil recovery.

Mobilisation activity on the project has started with a scheduled completion of early 2018, a statement said.

The Zubair oilfield contract is the contractor’s second collaboration with EIBV.

DSOG had previously won the EPC pipeline installation contract for the Zubair oilfield in 2012 which was completed in 2015.

Drake and Scull International chief operating officer Wael Allan said: “The contract award has raised DSI’s total project wins to Dhs 570m this year in very challenging circumstances.

“We are confident that our high margin businesses including Oil and Gas, Rail and Infrastructure and Engineering will significantly contribute to our sustainable growth.”

Drake and Scull has been hit hard by the slump in the Gulf construction sector and posted a 61 per cent fall in first-quarter net profit.

The contractor made a net profit attributable to shareholders of Dhs 9.8m in Q1, compared with a profit of Dhs 25.1m in the same period last year.

Read more: Dubai’s Drake & Scull Q1 net profit falls 61%