ENGINEERING & CONTRACTING

Tekfen in Russia for Gas Pipeline Construction

Ara 30, 2019

Tekfen Construction, in conjunction with its Russian-based subsidiary Rusfen, has signed an agreement with Kharampurneftegaz LLC over the manufacture and installation of a 90-kilometre-long natural gas pipeline in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (District) in Western Siberia.

This 90-kilometre stretch will be the first section of a gas transmission pipeline that is to link the Kharampur Gas Field with the main Gazprom pipeline. The Kharampur Gas Field, located in the Ural Federal District, is operated by Kharampurneftegaz, a company owned jointly by Rosneft and BP, and the project's contract value is 19.5 billion roubles, equivalent to approx. 311 million US Dollars. Work is to start on 1 February 2020, and the project, which involves the laying of pipes 48 inches in diameter, is expected to finish in 16 months. It will provide work for a total of 800 people, of whom 30% will be Turks.

Around 90% of Russia's natural gas production and 14% of its oil production takes place in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, a region with an arctic climate that also presents difficult geographical conditions.

Speaking of the new project, Tekfen Construction General Manager Mustafa Kopuz had the following to say: "Up to now, we at Tekfen Construction have laid over 6,000 kilometres of pipeline in places with a variety of challenging climates - ranging from the blistering heat of deserts to the freezing cold of snowy mountains. In this way we have acquired a good deal of proficiency, and the fact that we will now be making use of this proficiency in Russia fills us with a sense of excitement as this is the first project we have undertaken there for a long while. It is my hope that the successful completion of this project will create new opportunities for our newly-established Rusfen company, and thus for Tekfen, in this region - which in terms of energy resources may be considered the heart of Russia. The signature of this new contract in the last days of 2019, and the simultaneous arrival of news about two important tendering processes in Qatar, for which we have passed the preselection stage, are important developments that lead us to look forward to 2020 with a good deal of optimism."