Project management

The Ningzia Coal Industry Group has appointed AMEC to project manage the development of a new $1.5 billion coal-to-chemical production complex in China.

The complex, in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwest China, will be the first in the country to make end-product chemicals from coal. The facility will produce 540,000 tonnes of polypropylene per year from locally sourced coal reserves in the Ningxia area, reducing reliance on foreign imports. Polypropylene is a thermoplastic polymer with a wide variety of applications including food packaging, textiles and automotive components.

The complex will include a coal gasifier plant, a methanol and methanol-to-propylene unit, and a polypropylene unit.

Work on the new facility will begin in February this year and AMEC’s contract runs until its completion in early 2009.

Separately, AMEC has been awarded a three- year service contract with a further two one-year options by natural gas business the BG Group (BG).

AMEC will provide support to all of BG's UK Upstream assets and manage the development of the Maria brownfield gas project in the North Sea.

The initial value of the contract is approximately £90million.

The scope of the contract includes engineering, procurement, construction and project management for brownfield modifications and projects. Work will commence immediately to secure production from the Maria field by the first quarter of 2007. Maria is a two-well subsea development tied back to BG's Armada platform. Recoverable reserves are estimated to be 35 million barrels of oil equivalent.

AMEC will also execute any additional future brownfield UK upstream projects that BG initiates during the contract period, with each being subject to separate and additional financial arrangements.