UK-based oil and gas service provider Petrofac has officially confirmed it has been awarded the $4.2bn contract for the Lower Fars Heavy Oil Development project in North Kuwait.

MEED reported on 11 January that state upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) decided to grant the contract to Petrofac and its partner, Athens-based Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC).

In a statement issued on 20 January, Petrofac said the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) element of the project is due to be completed in 52 months, after which the plant will be turned over to KOC.

“Petrofac and CCC will continue to provide an integrated team at the site for a further eight months to undertake operations and maintenance alongside KOC,” the statement said.

The scope of work covers greenfield and brownfield facilities and includes engineering, procurement, construction, pre-commissioning, commissioning, start-up and operations and maintenance work for the main central processing facility (CPF) and associated infrastructure as well as the production support complex.

This includes a pipeline of almost 162 kilometres, which will transport the heavy crude from the CPF to South Tank Farm located in Ahmadi, from where KOC has the option to send it to the proposed Al-Zour refinery in the south of Kuwait.

When fully operational, it is expected the initial phase of the Lower Fars heavy oil project will produce about 60,000 barrels a day (b/d) of oil.