£1.3m Saudi shale gas deal for Maloney Metalcraft

The contract with JGC Gulf International is to supply gas treatment equipment.

JGC in turn is working for state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco, which is currently developing the infrastructure to process shale gas rom the Jalamid field in the Al-Jouf and northern border regions in the northwest part of Saudi Arabia.

The first phase of this project, dubbed System A, involves gathering gas, routing it to an engineered surface facility and then transporting it about 18 miles via pipeline to a customer.

Maloney Metalcraft will produce four gas treatment separation and filtration packages for System A.

It is also bidding to work on System B on the project, which will mean four times as many packages of gas processing equipment.

Maloney Metalcraft, based at Westgate in Aldridge, is part of the Avingtrans group, which makes components for the aerospace and energy sectors.

Austen Adams, managing director of Avingtrans' Energy and Medical division, said: "This contract is great news for the business and testimony to the strong track record the team has developed in the oil and gas field.

"The challenges faced by oil and gas industries are well documented but this contact demonstrates that new business opportunities are available for companies with the recognised expertise and experience to design and build performance-critical components."

Each of the four gas treatment packages will comprise a selection of pressure vessels, piping and instrumentation all assembled on a structural skid. The packages will remove bulk water and particulates from the shale gas that is extracted from the site."

Mr Austen added: "JGC is a new customer for our business and we're delighted that, in awarding us this contract, they have recognised the expertise of our team and their ability to successfully transfer existing technologies to new applications.

"The design work, project management and procurement will be undertaken by our specialist team in Aldridge, West Midlands while the manufacturing part of the project will be carried out nearer the final construction site, at one of our approved fabrication shops in the United Arab Emirates.

"The contract is a landmark for our business, being our first in the shale gas sector, but it cements our position as a design and manufacturing partner of choice for companies in the global energy industry and we're excited by the potential it represents."