NPCC projects to go up 66.7%

The value of projects undertaken by the National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) is set to rise by 66.7 per cent to Dh7.34 billion this year from Dh4.4bn in 2009, the company's CEO Akil Abdallah Al Madi said.

He said the firm was competing with international companies to win a contract for construction of projects worth $200 million (Dh734m) in India, and said last year the company won two contracts together valued at $432m.

Profits of the company, which was founded in 1973 and has executed many important projects, reached about $660m last year.

Al Madi disclosed NPCC was hoping to win the contract for a Dh1bn ADMA-OPCO project to develop and modernise existing platforms to raise their production capacity, which is to be awarded soon.

He said NPCC was working on large-scale projects for construction of petroleum facilities in Saudi Arabia, India and Qatar and planned to expand its overseas operations into Libya, Central Africa, Nigeria and Angola. Currently, NPCC is manufacturing equipment to work in deepsea fields off Africa costing more than $500m. This project is scheduled to be completed in 2012.

He said the company planned to acquire engineering firms but declined to say when details of these acquisitions would be announced. "We are still at the stage of study, research and surveys," he added.

Al Madi added there was a trend towards privatisation of enterprises owned by NPCC's parent company. "We are interested in involving the private sector in the holding company, including the General Petroleum Construction Company, but the timing is not certain," he said.

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