Sharjah-based oil and gas engineering and construction firm Petrofac has established a new joint venture with state-owned China Petroleum Engineering & Construction (CPECC)

CPECC will hold the majority stake of 51 per cent of the new venture, to be known as China Petroleum Petrofac Engineering Services (CPPES), with Petrofac taking the remaining 49 per cent, according to a 18 September statement.

CPEES will be based in Sharjah, where it will focus on providing project management and engineering services on projects for Chinese oil and gas companies, although the company notes that it will not be limited to any one region.

Maroun Seeman, Petrofac’s group chief operating officer said the deal would cement a seven-year relationship, which has seen them cooperate most recently in the award of an inspection, maintenance and repair contract for the Rumaila oil field in southern Iraq (MEED 4:7:11).

Petrofac’s business has focuses on the UK, the Middle East and Africa, the former Soviet Union and the Asia Pacific region. CPECC is a subsidiary of state-owned China National Petroleum Company, with core markets in the Middle East and North Africa, Central Asia, South Asia and South America.