Aker Solutions announces big contract from Total in Angola

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The news pushed up Aker Solutions shares by 5.86 percent in early trading in Oslo.

The Norwegian group, which provides services to the oil industry, said the contract worth 1.7bn euros was for underwater equipment for the ultra-deep water Kaombo project.

The field is about 260 kilometres (160 miles) offshore where the water is 1,400 to 1,900 metres deep.

Under the contract, worth 14bn kroner or $2.4bn, Aker Solutions would provide pipeline fittings and equipment for vertical wells, with the first deliveries due in the second quarter of next year.

The announcement comes just a day after Total announced that it was going ahead with the Kaombo project after finding ways of cutting the overall capital cost by $4.0bn (2.9bn euros) to $16.0bn.

The field is due to begin production in 2017, Total said.

The field has estimated reserves of 650 million barrels and should produce 230,000 barrels per day, Total said, explaining that it had made big improvements to the design and contracting strategy.

A substantial part of the work would be carried out in Angola, it said.

With the launch of the field, the forthcoming start-up of another Angolan deep-water resource, the CLOV field, and with three exploration wells planned in the Kwanza basin this year, "Angola remains a priority country for Total", the company said.

Source: AFP