General Electric's Baker Hughes energy services firm announced Saturday it had won a major subsea contract from Egypt's Petrobel for the second phase of giant Zohr gasfield offshore Egypt. "This project has the potential to meet Egypt's growing gas demand and save the country billions of dollars that would otherwise be spent on importing gas," said Baker Hughes' president Lorenzo Simonelli. Baker Hughes (BHGE), said as a long-term partner to Egypt, it would provide project management, engineering procurement, fabrication, construction, testing, and transportation of a subsea production system. Financial details were not disclosed. In addition, BHGE will provide wellheads via a separate contract awarded by Petrobel earlier this year. "Maximising domestic energy resources and optimising reliability of their supplies are core elements of Egypt's vision ... The Zohr gasfield is playing a major role in the development of Egypt's domestic energy resources, revenue generation and economic growth." Egyptian Oil Minister Tarek el-Molla said. Petrobel is a joint venture between IEOC, an Eni subsidiary in Egypt, and state-run Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and is in charge of the development of Zohr Field. "The Zohr field is one of the most significant developments of its kind, and through this project we can show the efficiency gains that such complex projects can achieve through our enhanced portfolio," Simonell added. "Together with our partners, BHGE can support Egypt's needs and vision for the energy sector and demonstrate its leadership in the subsea space."
