Essar Projects, a global EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction) company, said its joint venture with Italy’s Saipem S.p.A has won a USD 1.57 billion order from Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) for setting up Al-Zour Refinery Project (ZOR), Package-4, in the State of Kuwait. This is Essar’s biggest third-party order won in the region.

The New Refinery Project at Al Zour is Kuwait’s biggest development project with crude processing capacity of 615,000 barrels per day (bpd). KNPC has awarded four Contracts for the refinery’s construction, worth over USD13.2 billion to successful International bidders, making it the biggest Contract signing for 2015. The gala Contract Signing Ceremony was attended by Kuwait’s Minister of Oil, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) Chairman and KNPC CEO. Essar Projects was represented by Mr. Shiba Panda (Managing Director & CEO), Mr. Gianluca Mosca (COO-Overseas), Mr. Rajesh Gang (CFO-Overseas) and Mr. B Ravishankar (Head-Business Development, Kuwait).

Commenting on the order win, Mr. Panda said, “This mega order win is a testimony to our project management capabilities, which we have built over the years. The project marks Essar’s entry into the Kuwait project market with the biggest EPC contract by an external client. It also signals a quantum growth in our overseas business, showcasing our capability to collaborate with leading international EPC companies and our competitiveness in the face of tough global competition.”

Essar Projects has begun to mobilise resources for the project. Mr. Gianluca Mosca, COO – Overseas, Essar Projects said, “With several large infrastructure and industrial projects being implemented in West Asia, it has become one of the fastest growing markets in the world today. Within a short span of time Essar Projects has carved a name for itself and bagged significant project wins in the region due to its inherent strengths in delivering large and complex projects.”

With this order, Essar Project’s order book has swelled to USD 2.8 billion, with projects being executed in nine countries. The company has a track record of setting up large and complex projects in Oil & Gas (E&P as well as refineries), Power, Ports and Steel. It is currently focusing on third-party orders, particularly in the Middle East, where the company sees significant opportunities.

The scope for the KNPC contract includes Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Pre-commissioning and assistance during commissioning, startup and performance testing, in relation to Package-4 – Tank Farms for the of the Al-Zour Refinery Project (ZOR). Essar’s portion comprises build-out of tankages, roads and bridges, as well as civil work, on an EPC basis. The project is expected to be completed by 2019.

About Essar Projects (EPL)

Essar Projects Limited (EPL) is a global EPC company, which is headquartered in Dubai and offers a unique collaborative end-to-end project delivery model that is backward integrated into the supply chain and forward integrated into the operator’s mindset through its sister company links.

EPL’s four decades of experience executing mega projects in Hydrocarbons (Refinery, Petrochemical & Fertiliser Plants); Tankages and Terminals; Pipelines (Oil & Gas, Water, Slurry and Subsea); Offshore (Platforms, SPM & PLEM); Infrastructure (Ports, Jetties, Airports, Railway, Buildings & Townships); Minerals & Metals (Steel Plants, Sinter Feed, Beneficiation & Pelletisation Plants, Material Handling Systems); and Power Plants (Coal, Gas, Multi-fuel and Hydel).

Active participation in initial operations and maintenance through the stabilisation phase of projects executed for its Group companies has sharpened EPL’s skills, adding the O&M experience in EPC execution of turnkey projects. Unlike other contractors, EPL is therefore able to extend EPC from concept to commissioning and beyond.

EPL has an ‘in-house’ multidisciplinary skilled and experienced Engineering & Project Management Division geared to provide end-to-end solutions on a nut & bolt concept. It also has a Procurement division with strong vendor networks. The company owns a state-of-the-art fabrication facility and a large bank of construction equipment.

About Saipem

Saipem operates in the Engineering & Construction and Drilling businesses, with a strong bias towards oil & gas-related activities in remote areas and deep waters. Saipem is a leader in the provision of engineering, procurement, project management and construction services with distinctive capabilities in the design and execution of large-scale offshore and onshore projects, and technological competences such as gas monetization and heavy oil exploitation.

About KNPC

KNPC (Kuwait National Petroleum Company) is the company responsible for the refining and gas processing projects in Kuwait, and it is a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC).