Paris-La
Défense, September 18, 2002
Technip-Coflexip
(NYSE: TKP and Euronext: 13170) and its Iranian partner Nargan announced
today the coming into force of the contract they signed in March 2001
with JAM Petrochemical Company for the design, equipment and material
supply and construction supervision of the world's largest steam cracker
in Iran.
With a production capacity of 1,345,000 ton-a-year of ethylene, this
plant will be the core unit of the gigantic 10th Complex to be built
by the National Petrochemical Company of Iran (NPC) at the industrial
site of Asaluyeh, on the northern coast of the Persian Gulf.
Under the terms of this contract, worth about 330 million euros, Technip-Coflexip
will provide its in-house ethylene technology and proprietary furnaces
and will carry out engineering, supply of equipment and materials as
well as supervision of construction and commissioning. The relevant
engineering and procurement services will be mostly executed and managed
from Technip-Coflexip's offices in Paris and in the Hague.
The Iranian engineering company Nargan - in which Technip-Coflexip has
recently taken an interest of 20 % as shareholder - will perform the
engineering and procurement related to equipment and materials of local
origin.
JAM Petrochemical Company is the NPC's subsidiary responsible for construction,
project execution and running the plant.
The basic engineering for this project has been already completed by
Technip-Coflexip within the framework of an "Early Start Agreement"
based on cash payments. Delivery of last equipment items is scheduled
for mid 2004 and the plant is expected to come on stream within 2005.
This contract is being financed through multi-source export credit facilities
from France, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain, which have been syndicated
by banks under the leadership of Crédit Agricole Indosuez.
This unit will deliver the largest output of ethylene to-date in the
world and will be the only large capacity steam cracker using both gas
and liquid as feedstocks to produce ethylene and propylene. It will
run with an unusually low energy and utilities consumption, demonstrating
the high efficiency of Technip-Coflexip's steam-cracking process.
This major project reinforces Technip-Coflexip's position as a world
leader in mega-crackers following the award by NPC of a first contract
for the nearby one million-ton-a-year steam cracker of the 9th Complex.
* * *
With
a workforce of about 18,000, Technip-Coflexip ranks among the top five
in the field of oil and petrochemical engineering, construction and services.
Headquartered in Paris, the Group is listed in New York (NYSE: TKP) and
in Paris (Euronext: 13170). The main engineering and business centers
of Technip-Coflexip are located in France, Italy, Germany, the UK, Norway,
Finland, the Netherlands, the United States, Brazil, Abu-Dhabi, China,
India, Malaysia and Australia. The Group has high-quality industrial and
construction facilities in France, Brazil, the UK, the USA, and Finland
as well as a world class fleet of offshore construction vessels.
* * *
Statements
in this news release other than historical financial information are forward-looking
statements subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ
materially depending on factors such as capital expenditures in the oil
and gas industry, the timing of development of offshore energy resources,
materialization of construction risks, the strength of competition, interest
rate movements and stability in developing countries.
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