Oman’s Gulf Petrochemical Services & Trading has won two long-term oil and gas service contracts worth more than $200m from US energy major Occidental Petroleum Corporation.

According to a company source, the engineering firm won the first deal, a $80m four-year contract covering engineering installation and fabrication services, in July 2009. The client on the deal was Occidental subsidiary Occidental Oman.

The second deal, a $140m contract for oil field services over three years, was awarded by another Occidental subsidiary, Occidental Muhaizna, in early October 2009.

Engineering firms working in the sultanate say long-term service contracts are vital to their survival, as the number of major new oil and gas schemes being developed has fallen in recent years.

Major deals tendered in 2009 include a $500m gas processing plant at Musandam in the north of the country and a steam injection scheme at Amal in the southeast.