Halliburton lands Ghawar field contract

HOUSTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Oil field services company Halliburton announced it was awarded a drilling contract by Saudi Aramco for the Ghawar field, the largest oil field in the world.

Halliburton said the contract includes an integrated turnkey drilling operation in South Ghawar. Saudi Aramco believes there are more than 71 billion barrels of proven oil reserves remaining in the field.

The services company said the contract is the first such award for integrated turnkey drilling by Saudi Aramco and goes toward a broader plan to expand its relationship with oil field services providers.

Halliburton has played a role in operations in Saudi Arabia for close to 70 years. Ahmed Lotfy, the president of Eastern Hemisphere developments for Halliburton, described the contract as evidence of his company's legacy.

"Our selection by Saudi Aramco for yet another project of this magnitude demonstrates its continued confidence in our ability to successfully execute complex and challenging operations," he said.

The five-year contract includes engineering and management for drilling operations, drilling rigs and other construction activity.

Halliburton said the project would use up to four rigs and involve as many as 185 oil wells.