Petrofac nabs $8.5M Shah Deniz contract

LONDON, July 29 (UPI) -- British energy services company Petrofac said Tuesday it won an $8.5 million contract for pipelines tied to the Shah Deniz gas field offshore Azerbaijan.

The company said in a statement it secured the contract to help BP develop the "prestigious" second stage of Shah Deniz.

"The contract, valued at around $8.5 million, covers new onshore, offshore and pipeline assets in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea for what is one of the largest gas developments in the world," Petrofac boasted.

The Shah Deniz gas field in the Azeri waters of the Caspian Sea is expected to help diversify a European energy sector that depends heavily on Russia. Petrofac said its end of the project should be completed by 2018, adding more than 500 billion cubic feet of production to current output.

"We are thrilled to be supporting BP with one of their most ambitious projects," Steve Johnson, a vice president in charge of plant asset management for Petrofac, said in a statement.

There was no comment from BP on the Petrofac contract.