(Yicai) April 27 -- Shares of China Petroleum Engineering Corporation rose after the engineering unit of oil and gas giant China National Petroleum Corporation said it has secured a USD4.6 billion contract to build a gas processing facility for the Galkynysh Gas Field in Turkmenistan.

CPEC [SHA: 600339] closed 6 percent higher at CNY4.06 (59 US cents) a share today. The broader Shanghai stock market climbed 0.2 percent.

CPEC's unit China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation signed a deal with the project's general contractor CNPC Amu Darya Natural Gas Exploration and Development Beijing for the turnkey project of the ground natural gas production facilities of the gas field's fourth phase, the parent firm announced late on April 24.

CPECC plans to complete the basic design of the project within three months and finish all tasks, including detailed design, procurement of raw materials and equipment, construction, and equipment commissioning, within the following 48 months, Beijing-based CPEC noted. The unit will assume the responsibility for quality assurance within 12 months after the project passes the national acceptance inspection.

CPEC did not disclose the project's commencement date. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on its website that a groundbreaking ceremony attended by senior officials from China and Turkmenistan was held on April 17.

The deal constitutes a related-party transaction due to CNPC Amu Darya being a subsidiary of CNPC, the parent firm pointed out.

The Galkynysh Gas Field in Mary province is being developed in seven phases, CNPC said. The fourth one includes the design and construction of a natural gas processing plant with an annual capacity of 10 billion cubic meters, as well as supporting production facilities, including natural gas transmission pipelines, water and electricity supply public facilities, employee living camps, and road and railway facilities, it added.

The first and second phases of the gas field have been put into operation, with the produced natural gas mainly transported to China through cross-border pipelines. The natural gas produced from the fourth phase will also be supplied to China. A contract for the third phase, which is planned to supply gas mainly to the South Asian market, has not been signed yet.

CPEC's net profit rose 8.4 percent to CNY211 million (USD30.9 million) in the first quarter of this year from a year earlier, thanks to higher overall gross profit and gross margin resulting from the firm's full-cycle cost control of projects, according to its financial report also released late April 24. Revenue fell 1.5 percent to CNY16.9 billion (USD2.5 billion).

CPEC signed new project contracts worth CNY29.5 billion last quarter, with their value up 6.4 percent from a year ago. Overseas deals accounted for 21 percent of the total.

Editor: Martin Kadiev