ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, said today it has been awarded a contract totaling some $80 million for the outfitting and automation of a new offshore oil and gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico.

The new platform will expand production capacity in the Ku-Maloob-Zaap oil field for Pemex Exploración y Producción, a subsidiary of Mexico’s national oil company, Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX).

“This contract extends a series of recent ABB successes in comprehensive solutions for Pemex, including control and safety systems for five other platforms in the same oil field,” said Dinesh Paliwal, head of ABB’s Automation Technologies division and group operations in North America. “Our broad process expertise will help to ensure a timely and robust solution to the customer.”

ABB is to supply all process equipment, telecommunications, control, instrumentation, emergency shutdown, fire and gas and electrical systems, as well as providing project design, validation, commissioning and start-up supervision. The Mexican company Bosnor, a unit of Grupo R, will construct the platform’s steel jacket and decks, and install all equipment, including products for oil and gas production and processing manufactured by ABB and others.

The Ku-Maloob-Zaap oil field is located in Campeche Bay, about 100 kilometers northwest of Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico.

The new platform will increase daily production capacity by 80,000 barrels per day of heavy oil and 52 million cubic feet of associated gas. The platform will also provide compression services for an additional 60 million cubic feet per day of non-associated gas from other production installations.

Production start-up for the new platform is scheduled for February 2007.