Leighton Holdings has won a major contract by Iraq’s South Oil Company, involving the development of two offshore platforms.

The $518 million deal awarded to Leighton Offshore requires the development of a 75 kilometer 48” oil pipeline and a Single Point Mooring system, and aims to stabilize and expand Iraq’s crude oil export capacity, a lifeline of the Iraqi economy, by constructing a pipeline connecting crude oil storage facilities to the offshore crude oil export terminal in Fao, Basrah in Southern Iraq.

Leighton Holdings Chief Executive Officer, Hamish Tyrwhitt said the contract award demonstrated the wealth of expertise and highlighted the Leighton Group’s broader strategy to become a major player in the offshore construction Industry.

“Leighton Offshore has demonstrated its ability to deliver complex projects in difficult and remote locations and we are extremely proud to be a part of the rebuilding of Iraq’s oil export infrastructure which is critical to Iraq’s economy,” Mr Tyrwhitt said.

Leighton Offshore Chief Executive Officer, Peter Cox, said offshore oil and gas sector represented a key area of growth for the company.

“Leighton Offshore is a leading engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) and life of field services (LOFS) contractor,” Mr Cox said.

Leighton’s contract forms part of the Crude Oil Export Facility Reconstruction Project, which is financed and supported through the Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) Loan by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).