(Yicai) Nov. 12 -- A consortium led by a subsidiary of China Petroleum Engineering Corporation, the construction engineering arm of energy major China National Petroleum Corporation, has won a USD424 million engineering, procurement, and construction contract for a chemical products transportation pipeline in Kazakhstan.

The consortium will be tasked with the general contracting for the construction of single-corridor trunk pipelines for the transportation of ethane and propane in the Kazakh region of Atyrau for KMG PetroChem, CPEC announced yesterday. The two pipelines will be 211.2 and 218.7 kilometers long, respectively.

Led by China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering, the consortium also comprises CPP’s local subsidiary and Citic Construction. CPP and its unit will be responsible for the design of the project, while Citic Construction will assist with financing and other types of support. All three will take charge of the procurement and logistics of equipment and materials, construction, and commissioning.

The project is expected to reach provisional acceptance within 36 months, CPEC noted, without disclosing any further details.

The project will help CPEC to consolidate and expand its oil and gas storage and transportation engineering services business in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, the firm noted, adding that the project is also expected to have a positive impact on its operating revenue and profit over the next three to four years.

KMG PetroChem is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kazakh oil and gas giant KazMunayGas. It is responsible for the planning, construction, and operation of key petrochemical projects in Kazakhstan, covering the entire petrochemical supply chain, from upstream feedstock to midstream logistics and transportation to downstream product manufacturing.

This is the fifth large overseas pipeline construction project CPEC has won since the beginning of the year, while CPP was contracted for a liquefied natural gas transmission pipeline projects in the United Arab Emirates, as well as a natural gas transmission pipeline project and a seawater transmission pipeline project in Iraq. CPEC’s other engineering arm, China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation, was contracted to construct a natural gas processing facility in Iraq. The total value of the four deals was USD4.9 billion.

CPEC’s shares [SHA: 600339] were trading up 0.8 percent at CNY3.75 (53 US cents) as of 1.40 p.m. in Shanghai today.

Editor: Futura Costaglione