The holy river

Gemsa Petroleum Company has awarded Aker Kvaerner a £17m contract for operation, management and maintenance of the Al Zaafarana Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel in Egypt.

The five-year contract, which includes options for extensions, will be effective from 1 September 2007.

The FPSO is located in the Red Sea offshore Egypt. Manned by 25 people, it stores produced oil and transports it onshore using shuttle tankers.

As part of the contract, Aker Kvaerner Operations and its partner Gravitas & Cie will provide the personnel for work on the FPSO.

‘The award of this contract gives Aker Kvaerner Operations a foothold in North Africa and in the growing market segment of FPSO production,' said John McKeown, managing director of Aker Kvaerner Operations.