Valerus acquisition helps Kentz win €27m Venezuela engineering deal

Kentz has won a $38m (€27.3m) engineering contract in Venezuela — via its US-based oil and gas handling subsidiary, Valerus — representing the group’s fourth significant international contract win inside the past month.

The Irish-founded engineering services group — which specialises in providing infrastructural support services for oil and gas exploration companies around the world — acquired Valerus, for €316m, in December in a bid to increase its foothold in the US, Latin and South America.

The new contract will see the company provide engineering and procurement services for an early- stage production plant in Punto Fijo in Venezuela for Carlon IV; a local company jointly owned by Spanish oil and gas group, Repsol and Italian energy giant, Eni.

The plant will be operational by the fourth quarter of this year and deliver 150m standard cubic feet per day of gas.

Earlier this week, Kentz announced that one of its joint-venture vehicles in Dubai had won an engineering services contract from Shell Iraq Petroleum Development.

Another development contract, in Mozambique, for one of the largest coal mining projects in Africa was inked in early March. Last month, a Kentz joint- venture won a $640m development contract for an onshore oil facility in Australia.

At the start of the year, the group said it closed 2013 with a pipeline of outstanding work projects worth €11.4bn and in a strong financial position.

“We are starting the year in a very strong position and foresee the delivery of yet another strong performance in 2014,” said group chief executive, Christian Brown, as part of Kentz’s final trading update ahead of its results announcement.