Saudi Aramco Awards Karan Gas Contract to U.S. Oil and Gas

DHAHRAN, March 09, SPA -- Saudi Aramco has signed a contract with J.
Ray McDermott, S.A., a subsidiary of McDermott International, Inc., a
U.S. oil and gas services company, to develop and construct platforms
and a subsea pipeline at the offshore Karan Gas field.


J. Ray McDermott won the turnkey contract that includes
manufacturing and installation of four platforms and the construction
of a 110-kilometer subsea pipeline to carry offshore sour gas from
the Karan field to be treated and processed at the onshore
Khursaniyah Gas Plant.


The Karan gas field is Saudi Aramco’s first offshore non-associated
gas project to be developed, and responds to the growth of domestic
demand for gas in Saudi Arabia. The Karan gas project is expected to
process 1.8 billion standard cubic feet per day of gas, with the
start-up of production scheduled for mid-2011, according to a report
carried by Saudi Aramco's web-site yesterday.



The offshore work awarded to J. Ray McDermott is in addition to
three other contracts for onshore projects awarded earlier to Korea’s
Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd., the UK’s Petrofac, and
Korea’s GS Engineering and Construction Co. Ltd.


The contracts were awarded after a review of the offers presented by
the companies and following a successful round of negotiations by the
Karan project team.


Owned by the Saudi Arabian Government, Saudi Aramco is a
fully-integrated, global petroleum enterprise, and a world leader in
exploration and producing, refining, distribution, shipping and
marketing.


The company manages proven reserves of 260 billion barrels of oil
and manages the fourth-largest gas reserves in the world, 239.5
trillion cubic feet.


In addition to its headquarters in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Saudi
Aramco has affiliates, joint ventures and subsidiary offices in
China, Japan, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Singapore,
Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United
States.

--SPA