Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil firm Saudi Aramco has awarded a lucrative new gas contract to McDermott that will license the construction of four new platforms and a 110 km pipeline.

J Ray McDermott, a subsidiary of McDermott International, won the contract for an undisclosed sum and will now begin work on extracting and transporting gas from the Karan field.

The Karan field is the country's first non-associated gas field and Aramco commented that it has become an important contributor to the country's rising demand for gas.

However, Reuters cites reports indicating that the value of the contract has fallen considerably in the wake of the economic crisis as energy consumption has slumped.

Aramco pursues a longstanding commitment to a 'Saudisation' programme, which binds foreign oil companies working in the country to commit to training programmes for domestic workers.

The company's president and chief executive officer Khalid Al-Falih is also a patron of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals and King Saud University.

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