KCA DEUTAG, the international drilling contractor, has been awarded a land drilling contract worth in excess of US $25 million in Europe.

ENAGAS S. A. has awarded KCA DEUTAG a contract for its 2000hp rig T-46 for the execution of 11 wells as part of the construction of their Underground Natural Gas Storage Project in YELA, Guadalajara. T-46 will be mobilized to the area in June 2009 and the drilling of the wells will take approximately two years.

Holger Temmen, Chief Executive of KCA DEUTAG, said, "This contract secures further utilisation for our rig fleet in our core European market. The award was made on the basis of our reputation for providing high performing, safe drilling operations, quality rigs and highly competent crews."

Outside of Europe, KCA DEUTAG continues to expand its rig fleet in the Middle East and North Africa, two of its strategic growth areas.

On April 17, 2009, KCA DEUTAG successfully spud its first well for RAK Petroleum Al Khaleej Ltd in the East Sajaa field in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The contract with RAK Petroleum was awarded in November 2008 for an initial one firm exploration well. This is the first phase of the contract which has three further options.

The mobilization & start up of the 3,000HP rig T-79 was carried out with zero incidents, in keeping with KCA DEUTAG's aim of safe, effective, trouble-free operations.

In Algeria, KCA DEUTAG is currently embarking on a seven well drilling and testing program. The contract, awarded by Petroceltic, is for KCA DEUTAG's new T-212 Nomad class drilling rig. The rig was mobilised from Germany earlier this year to the Isarene permit, where Petroceltic has a 75% interest and Sonatrach has a 25% interest. Drilling began on the INE-2 well on May 16, 2009.

Holger Temmen, KCA DEUTAG's Chief Executive, commented, "This is a significant step forward in our expansion plans for North Africa. Algeria is arguably one of the most important suppliers of natural gas to Europe and, with about 120 drilling and workover rigs, is the biggest drilling market in North Africa and therefore a key growth market for KCA DEUTAG.

"Our strategy is to increase our presence in Algeria over the next three years. We already have an office in Hassi Messaoud to provide operational support to our ambitions in the country, and we plan to build on our current success to continue to grow our operations there."

Tags: KCA DEUTAG