Algeria’s Sonatrach has formally signed a contract with Italian contractor Maire Tecnimont for the execution of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on the fourth train of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG 4) plant of the planned Hassi Messaoud refinery.

Maire Tecnimont announced being awarded the $248m EPC deal on 3 September, although the formal contract was not signed at the time.

The contractor said on 5 November that it has held an official signing ceremony with the client.

The Hassi Messaoud refinery project is being built inside the existing ZCINA facility, located in the Hassi Messaoud area in central Algeria.

The scope of the project requires the implementation of a new train with the capacity to process 8 million standard cubic metres a day of LPG, and condensate extracted from the associated gas that comes from existing plants in the ZCINA facility, outside the battery limits.

The project’s completion is scheduled within 30 months from the commencement date.

It is an extension of the existing ZCINA LPG plant, which began operating in June 2013 with three LPG trains. It was designed to increase the production of LPG and condensate from the Hassi Messaoud field.