Foster Wheeler Ltd. says that its UK-headquartered subsidiary Foster Wheeler Energy Limited, part of its Global Engineering and Construction Group, has been awarded a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract by BP Exploration (El Djazair) Limited on behalf of the In Salah Gas Joint Venture for the Southern Fields Development Project in Algeria.

The Foster Wheeler contact value for this project was not disclosed, and will be included in the company's fourth-quarter 2008 bookings.

In Salah Gas (ISG), the largest dry gas joint-venture development in the country, involves the development of seven proven gas fields in the southern Sahara, 1,200 km south of Algiers. On-stream since July 2004, ISG produces approximately nine billion cubic meters of gas per year from three northern fields. It is also the world's first full-scale carbon dioxide capture project at an onshore gas field. The ISG venture is run as an Association between Sonatrach, BP and StatoilHydro.

The objective of the In Salah Southern Gas Fields Development Project, the second phase of the ISG development, is to maintain gas production at plateau levels when production from the three northern fields goes into decline. It involves the development of the four fields to the south of the current development, Garet el Befinat, Hassi Moumene, In Salah and Gour Mahmoud, located around the town of In Salah in the Walia of Tamanrasset.

Foster Wheeler will update the basis of design, develop the technical data, specifications and requisitions and provide a detailed cost estimate in order to define the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) scope of work.

"One of our key strengths is the design and execution of large, technically complex projects in challenging environments, so we are delighted to have been selected by In Salah Gas for the second phase of this significant development," said Michael J. Beaumont, chairman and chief executive officer, Foster Wheeler Energy Limited. "The Foster Wheeler team will bring together its specialist expertise in gas field development, pipelines, and the execution of major projects to deliver a high quality FEED which meets schedule and plant availability objectives, while also taking full account of the environmental and social sensitivities of development in proximity to the local In Salah community."

Tags: BP PLC