State-upstream operator, Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has awarded a $275m deal to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Khorayef for the supply, install and operation of electrical submersible pump systems (ESPs) in Kuwait.

The five-year contract, which has an optional one-year extension, was signed on 21 January by Hashim Sayed Hashim, KOC’s CEO and Saad al-Khorayef, the chairman of the Saudi firm.

ESPS systems are used to aid the flow of crude oil from the reservoir to the wellhead when the natural pressure is insufficient to force the trapped oil to the surface.