Algeria’s Sonatrach has awarded Italy’s Saipem the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for an oil-gas separation plant at the Hassi Messaoud complex in central Algeria.  

The scope of works for Saipem includes the EPC of the plant, which will separate associated gas from oil, as well as a gathering system encompassing manifolds and pipelines for a total length of 140 kilometres.

The exact value of the contract was not disclosed by the company.

The Italian firm is also building a $1bn-plus liquefied petroleum gas processing facility at the same complex that will be operated alongside the oil-gas separation plant (MEED 31:5:07).

Saipem is 43 per cent owned by Italy’s Eni.